Pokemon Conquest: Mistletoe and Secret Santas
by Queen Nephthys
Summary: A Pokémon Conquest Christmas fic. Ransei's Warlords are celebrating Christmas with a grand party in Nixtorm. Mitsuhide just wants this to be a normal, peaceful event, but with Aya hanging mistletoe all over the place, and the Secret Santas backfiring on him, things aren't going as he hoped they would. ALL REQUESTS WILL BE ACCEPTED! Merry Christmas to all!
1. On the Twelve Days of Christmas

**Please read the author's notes at the bottom once you have read the story. Thank you, and enjoy. : )**

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Prologue

**~The Kingdom of Nixtorm; outside Nixtorm Castle~**

Nixtorm was a kingdom in Ransei that was permanently covered in snow. It was a given, seeing that more than 70% of the kingdom was mountainous terrain. Yet it still was victim to the seasons, in its own way. In the summer months, snow would stop falling, and the ice would melt completely from the water, allowing the water Pokemon to breach, and occasionally splash out of the lakes. The snow would melt at the bottoms of mountains, allowing for easier travel. On the other hand, winters in Nixtorm were brutal and unforgiving, with blizzards and hail constantly in effect. Nixtorm's residents would be lucky to only get two feet of snow in winter, with the average snowfall being about four feet. The lakes and other waterbeds would obviously freeze over, trapping water dwelling Pokemon inside.

Currently, it was December in Ransei, and Nixtorm had just reached the peak of its "coldest" season, as Gracia had put it. Ryo had to agree with that statement. When had he and Ryoko decided to attack this place when they were marching against Nobunaga? He couldn't remember anymore, but it had certainly not been as cold as it was now. The air was so heavy, it almost hurt to breathe at times. It didn't help that he was carrying heavy boxes around in snow that was well over his knees.

Ryoko had talked him into going to Nixtorm today. Apparently, Nixtorm was famous for its beautiful Christmastime decorations, and all the houses on the mountains this time of year were lit up with festive lanterns, red ribbons, holly, pine wreaths, and plenty of other decor one would expect to see up for the holiday season. At night, it made the mountains appear to be giant Christmas trees themselves. While it was pretty, Ryo didn't think it was worth waking him up well before sunrise, catching the blimp to get here, and staying in the freezing cold for half the day. Aurora had been decorated for the holiday as well, and aside from the lack of mountains (which in Ryo's opinion was actually a plus), there wasn't much difference. Worse still was the circumstances that they had come under. Originally, Ryoko had said that they would be sledding, ice skating, doing some shopping in the villages, and spending the rest of the day with Lord Mitsuhide and Gracia, who had evidently invited them to see Nixtorm in its December coat. Ryo figured Lord Mitsuhide offered because he and Ryoko were still technically new Warlords, and they and the Nixtorm Warlord had not originally met on friendly terms, given the circumstances at the time. However, when they got to Nixtorm castle, they had found the entire place covered by large crates and boxes being carried around by warriors and Pokemon. The opened crates held a vast array of red, green, silver and gold decorations. Several pine trees were also being hefted in by a few large Pokemon as well. In the back of the large room they had been standing in, Mitsuhide's daughter, Gracia, was playing in a makeshift fort composed of the empty boxes with her Pokemon beside her. Mitsuhide passed by them carrying a box full of ribbons. He noticed the group standing in the doorway, and quickly welcomed them, and asking them to wait for him in the next room. After a few minutes of waiting, the older Warlord came in and welcomed them properly, before apologizing for the mess. Apparently, the castle was being prepared for its annual Christmas celebration for the Warlords and their Pokemon. This would be the first one in three years, seeing as the war with Nobunaga had kept the party from taking place prior, so Mitsuhide was making an extra effort in celebration of Ransei's current state of peace. Ryoko had volunteered all of them to help out with the set up, including Oichi and Ranmaru, who she had invited along with them for the day. They seemed happy to help as well, but Ryo was annoyed. Even though he didn't mind lending a hand, this wasn't how he originally had planned his day to be.

So now, he was hefting crates into the castle alongside Ryoko, Oichi, and their Pokemon. Jigglypuff wasn't able to do much heavy lifting, given how light she was, so she instead was helping Gracia and Ranmaru with the decorating inside. Ranmaru had offered his Dragonair to help them with the crate lifting as a trade, though, which helped more than a little bit. Ryo and Ryoko had brought two Eevees along with them: Yuki, who had evolved into a Glaceon recently, and Mosu, who was a Flareon . They had decided that the two of them would be best suited to Nixtorm's weather. Mosu and Yuki were both proving to be great partners at the moment; Mosu's flames were able to melt the snow and give them a clear path up to the castle, as well as providing warmth, while Yuki was able to run over the snow and ice without problem, taking the smaller boxes along with her.

"I... think that's... the last of it... Lord Mitsuhide...!" Ryo panted as they came inside the castle. Mitsuhide walked over to them and opened one of the boxes. He observed the contents before turning his attention to a scroll he was carrying. Ryo figured it was a list of all the items. He looked back and forth between the boxes and crates, before nodding to the scroll, and smiling at the three younger Warlords.

"Yes; that should be everything." he confirmed. Sighing with relief, the three dropped to the floor, leaning on each other in exhaustion. Mitsuhide looked at them sheepishly, an anime sweatdrop forming on his head.

"I... apologize for the trouble, but I am very grateful for the extra hands." he said.

Ryoko brightened up at this, offering a wide smile. "Hey, it's no trouble at all, Lord Mitsuhide. We were happy to help out for the Christmas party."

"Speak for yourself." Ryo mumbled, before his sister elbowed him in the ribs.

"Hey!" he whined in protest.

"So, when is this party gonna be?" Ryoko asked, getting to her feet and dusting herself off, once again completely full of energy.

"We always hold the Christmas party for a week;" Mitsuhide explained while Ryo and Oichi also attempted to stand up, Ryo being assisted by Mosu. "Anyone invited is allowed to come as early as the week before Christmas Eve, and everyone will have left by New Year's Eve, to prepare for the New Year's festival. Nixtorm will be hosting events all that week, including a Christmas banquet. Ultimately, it is just a chance for the Warlords to take a break from their responsibilities."

"So are we invited?" Ryoko asked excitedly.

"Of course; the Warlords from all the kingdoms are always invited. However, this year, Ryoko, you and Lord Ryo are the guests of honor. After all, Ransei never would have been at peace without you to make it so."

Ryoko lit up again, and began to jump up and down happily. "Cooool!" she exclaimed. "I can't wait; this is going to be the best Christmas we've ever had!"

"You say that about every Christmas." Ryo commented, "Not to mention every other holiday and festival."

Ryoko turned to her brother. "Well, that's because they always are better each year!" she argued.

Oichi smiled, and walked up to the twins. "This would be my first year to spend Christmas in Nixtorm as well." she stated, "Seeing as I am now a Warlord myself."

Mitsuhide smiled. "It will be a pleasure to have you here with your brother, Lady Oichi." he said. He turned and motioned for the others to follow him. "Come, let's have a warm meal in the dining hall. I think we have all earned it after being in the cold for so long."

Ryo shivered. "How do you manage to live on these mountains?" he asked, "I was having a hard time breathing out there."

"If you live with it long enough, the body will adjust to survive such extremities longer. Actually, Gracia is much more adept to the air than I am, seeing as she has lived here all of her life."

"So how long have you lived here, then?" Ryo asked.

Mitsuhide paused. "About twenty years, I believe. Perhaps just under that."

"Papa! Everyone!" The Warlords turned around to see Gracia running over to them with Ranmaru trailing behind her. Jigglypuff showed up after him, and floated into Oichi's arms. The two younger kids stopped, and Gracia began jumping up and down like a Spoink.

"Are you all done with moving the decorations and stuff in?" she asked in a bubbly voice.

"Yes, we are." Mitsuhide confirmed.

"Yay! Does that mean we can go play now?" she asked.

"We were actually going to go eat some lunch now." Ryoko stated. "But we'd love to do something with you after. Any suggestions?"

"Oh, boy!" Gracia exclaimed. "We've _gotta_ go sledding down the Sealeo slopes! That's where a bunch of Spheal and Sealeo like to play, and they will let you ride on their backs down the hills there. And it's right next to Koyuki lake, so afterwards we can go ice skating!"

"That sounds great!" Ryoko shouted, beginning to rock on her feet as well. "I wanted to do some shopping and see the lit up houses, too. What's the best place to go for something like that?"

"Then we should go to the village at the foot of Freezer Mountain; the tallest mountain in Nixtorm, and Ransei, for that matter!" Gracia said. "It has the cutest little shops, and I know this one house there that puts up soooo many lanterns each year! Or the local village. I know the kids of this one toymaker, and he gives the kids free toys sometimes during Christmas season. Of course, there's always the village that you get to cross through to get to Valora on foot, where they sell a lot of stuff that's made in Valora..."

"Way too many decisions." Ryoko said dryly.

"Gracia, why don't you just stay near the castle village." Mitsuhide recommended. "Our guests are only staying for the day. Besides, you will have plenty of time to show them around during the Christmas party."

Gracia nodded, a bit disappointed, but understanding. "Ok." she agreed.

"It's ok, Gracia." Ryo comforted. "I'm going to be staying in the castle, anyway." he laughed.

Ryoko glowered at him. "Oh, no you're not!" she said, grabbing his arm. "You're going to be helping me shop for Christmas presents."

Ryo groaned. "You know I'm terrible at stuff like that!"

"I don't care if you're the worst present giver in Ransei! You're helping me and that's final!"

Mitsuhide spoke up as the others were laughing at the siblings squabble. "Perhaps you should go with her, Lord Ryo. Along with every invitation sent out is the name of another Warlord who is invited to the party. You will have to find a gift to give that person at the party."

"It's called Secret Santa!" Gracia spoke up. Mitsuhide nodded.

"Yes; it's to make sure that everyone gets a gift to open Christmas day. Of course, you may also give gifts to whomever you like, but you absolutely must find a present for the person named in your invitation."

"Now that _really _sounds fun!" Ryoko said. "I can't wait to find out who I'm shopping for!"

"What if I don't like whoever I have to shop for?" Ryo said.

"The gifts will remain anonymous." Mitsuhide assured Ryo. "No one will know who gave who a gift. It lessens the inevitable bloodshed quite a bit."

Oichi looked up at this. "...Bloodshed?" she questioned nervously. Mitsuhide sighed.

"We... have had a fair amount of fights break out occasionally during the festivities for various reasons. But I am taking extra precautions this year, seeing as this is really the first Christmas party in quite a while. I even have a failsafe deployed in the event of such a catastrophe."

Ryoko flinched at that. "Wow. I never thought Christmas could be so scary."

Mitsuhide bowed his head. "It's only frightening if you are the one to clean up the mess." he remarked dejectedly. Ryo sympathized with that. He really felt sorry for Mitsuhide. Being a Warlord was hard enough, but being the Warlord who was responsible for the Warlords' Christmas Party every year... that must be a nightmare.

"Uh... sorry I said anything." Ryoko apologized.

"No, it's quite alright." Mitsuhide replied, coming out of his slump. "It makes me happy to know that I can give the Warlords a moment of peace. And the Christmas party is all I am responsible for. Each kingdom has their own set of festivals and parties they throw each year as well, so I am not the only one to bear such a burden."

"Now that you mention it, this year we were put in charge of the firework celebration for the New Year's Festival." Ryoko said.

"That honor was given to you for uniting Ransei." Ranmaru stated. "Otherwise, there would have been a battle to determine who was to host the grand festival."

"That is right." Mitsuhide agreed. "And many other Kingdoms will host festivals throughout the year. But we can discuss more of this over food; let's go have our lunch."

"Sounds good to me!" Ryo stated.

"Ooh, ooh, ooh! Papa, Papa!" Gracia cried excitedly, "Can we have some hot chocolate? I think everyone would love a cup!"

"Yes, you should definitely offer a cup to them, Mitsuhide." came a voice from inside the room. Everyone turned their attention to the table, where a white-clad figure sat, drinking from a cup of her own hot chocolate. Next to her sat a Froslass, and a Cubchoo was laying in her lap. An ornate staff was laid down behind her. Looking up from her cup, she turned to the small group and offered one of her signature smiles. Her blue eyes matched the color of the ice-covered walls perfectly, and they gleamed with the mischievous nature of a Meowth. "Nixtorm's hot chocolate is without peer through all of Ransei."

"L-Lady Aya?!" Ryo exclaimed, surprised to see the older woman here, especially seeing as Lord Kenshin and Kanetsugu were not within ten feet of her. There had to be a ninja spying on her if she didn't have one of the two men escorting her, then, given how overprotective Lord Kenshin was of his older sister.

"What are you doing here?!" Mitsuhide demanded as he entered the room. "More importantly, how did you get past my notice?"

Aya's calm demeanor did not falter at the interrogation. "I simply let myself in." she replied, as though the simple explanation made everything better. "I did not wish to disturb you, seeing as you were so preoccupied when I arrived. I hope you don't mind; I helped myself to the kitchen and prepared a kettle of hot chocolate and gingerbread for everyone." Gracia jumped for joy and ran over to the table.

"Yay!" she squealed. "Thank you so much, Lady Aya!" she said before helping herself to one of the treats. Aya giggled.

"But of course, dear. It was my pleasure." she said. Cubchoo wiggled off of Aya and went over to Gracia and Gothita, and began playing with them. Everyone else followed quickly after Gracia, choosing to eat first and ask questions later, except for Mitsuhide, who remained at the dining room entrance, still in a state of shock by the presence of the older woman.

"Wow! That looks delicious, and I'm starving!"

"Pass the hot chocolate, please!"

"Here you are, dear."

"Thank you for the trouble, My Lady."

"Not at all."

"Hey, Ryo! Don't be a pig!"

"Aw, come on! These are really good!"

"Yummy, yummy, yummy!"

"The hot chocolate really _is _delicious!"

"Lady Nene is a much better cook than I, but I can manage just as well when I really want to. Oh, Mitsuhide, won't you join us? I would hate to have anything go to waste."

Upon being addressed by his uninvited house guest, Mitsuhide was able to shake off his surprised stupor, and fix the lady with a icy glare. "Just what business do you have here, Lady Aya?" he demanded again.

Aya's face remained cheerful. "Well currently, it seems that eating an afternoon snack is my business." she stated without humor evident. Mitsuhide did not seem to be amused by this statement. Aya shook her head. "In all seriousness, though, I am running an errand. It's becoming quite late in the season, and we have yet to receive any mail from Nixtorm this month. I was under the impression that you would be hosting a Christmas party this year, Mitsuhide, seeing as Ransei is once more in a state of peace. When will Illusion castle be expecting it's invitation?"

Mitsuhide groaned. "Lord Kenshin and Kanetsugu have both received their invitations." he explained, "_You_ are not invited, My Lady."

Aya, surprisingly, remained smiling. "Surely, you are not serious, Lord Mitsuhide." she said.

Mitsuhide frowned. "Just because I have had to postpone this party for the last few years does not mean that I have forgotten what I told you at the last party: if you caused any more trouble for the other guests, then you would no longer be invited. I apologize, My Lady, but I must stand by my word."

The others quieted down as they observed the conversation rather awkwardly, no one really understanding what was going on. Ranmaru seemed to understand, but he was pretending to ignore the adults' discussion by playing with the Pokemon.

"Uh... what's going on here?" Ryoko asked. "Why isn't Lady Aya invited to the party?"

Mitsuhide sighed again, and brought his hand up to his temple in annoyance, as though reliving an unpleasant memory.

"Lady Aya has been responsible for the majority of accidents and unnecessary injuries that could have been avoided during every Christmas party I have hosted, not to mention quite a few of the ones hosted by my predecessor."

Aya pouted, "My actions are entirely innocent," she replied, "all in good fun."

"It is no longer 'fun' when someone gets punched in the eye or set on fire." Mitsuhide countered.

"Punched in the eye?" Ryo asked.

"Set on _fire?!_" Ryoko exclaimed. "Just what the heck goes on at these parties?!"

Mitsuhide turned back to the twins. "What happens is that Lady Aya hides mistletoe all over the castle." He turned back to Aya, who smiled shamelessly at this accusation.

"It's funny." Gracia commented.

"It's _dangerous_!" her father corrected irately.

"...Really?" Ryoko asked. "Mistletoe? That's it? That actually... sounds kinda nice..."

"Mistletoe? You mean that stuff that people hang up during Christmas?" Ryo asked. "What's so dangerous about a decoration?"

Ryoko turned to her brother. "Don't tell me you don't know about mistletoe."

"What's to know?" he asked.

"There is a tradition attached to mistletoe." Oichi explained to the male twin. "If two people meet underneath mistletoe, then they must kiss each other."

"Why would they do that?" Ryo asked.

"Because it's a tradition, dummy." Ryoko said, wrapping her knuckles on his head. "Geez, pay attention, would ya?"

"It's very romantic." Oichi said quietly, glancing at Ryo with blushing cheeks.

"It sounds dumb." Ryo commented, causing Oichi and his sister to both bow their heads in shame. Clueless boy...

"Well..." Ryoko continued turning back to the two adults, "I still don't understand why mistletoe is such a problem. I mean... it's just a harmless tradition, after all."

"You would think so." Mitsuhide agreed, "However, Lady Aya fails to realize that most of the other Warlords do not take the mistletoe tradition as well as would be expected."

"I would think you of all people would appreciate my mistletoe party favors, Mitsuhide." Aya stated, "After all, it was because of it that you met your wife for the first time."

Mitsuhide was briefly taken aback at the mention of his long deceased wife, remembering their first meeting as if it were yesterday. "That may be true," he consented, "However, in the most recent years of Nixtorm's parties, the other Warlords have shown that they do not possess the emotional maturity for you to continue such a tradition. And to be honest, I do not have the funds to repair any damage done to the castle if another fight breaks out."

"Damage?" Ryoko questioned.

"Let's see..." Mitsuhide began, "There was the Christmas from seven years ago..."

**~Flashback~**

_Ginchiyo was walking around at the Christmas party with her Shinx walking at her feet. She was incredibly bored, seeing as there were no battles going on. She really hated these get-togethers. What made it worse was that Muneshige had once again gone off on his own to mingle with the other warlords, and she was left alone, completely at the mercy of anyone that decided to come up to her and attempt to start a conversation. _

_She was holding out good so far; only a few people had greeted her in passing, and everyone else was preoccupied with each other. Lord Motonari walked past her then, and he offered her a warm smile and a brief hello. She stopped to return the greeting. As she did, Magoichi walked by in the opposite direction, but unlike Motonari, he stopped in front of her, and looked at her with a sly smirk. _

_Ginchiyo stared at him, wrinkling her nose in irritation. "Can I help you?" she asked, not masking her irritation at the man. _

_"Well, I think I can help you." Magoichi replied, leaning closer to the woman. Ginchiyo's eyes widened slightly, and she leaned away. _

_"You can help me by removing yourself from my sight, fool." she said, attempting to push him away._

_Magoichi's smile only widened. "No need for embarrassment, my lady." he said. "It's only natural for the ladies to want to be under the mistletoe with me."_

_"Wha-?" Ginchiyo stuttered, as Magoichi pointed up, and there Ginchiyo saw the little plant hung over the two of them._

_"Now pucker up, baby!" Magoichi said as he prepared to kiss her. But before he even had a chance, Ginchiyo had unsheathed her serrated blade (even at a party, her weapons never left her side), and she hit Magoichi in the side of the head with the flat end of the blade. the force sent him flying to the other side of the room, and crashing into a table. Everyone looked from where the 'ladies' man' had crashed, over to Ginchiyo, who now had lightening crackling from her wrists, and her eyes burning with rage. _

_Mitsuhide, one of the onlookers, went wide eyed with fear. "...oooh no." he said simply, preparing to evacuate people from the room. _

_"I'll teach you to disrespect a Tachibana, you cur!" Ginchiyo shouted. "Shinx, give him a Thunderbolt he'll never forget!" _

_"Shin shinx!" the catlike Pokemon agreed, before charging up for an attack. Many of the guests screamed and began to run for the doorway. Mitsuhide, ran up to Ginchiyo._

_"Lady Ginchiyo, please! I beg you, there is no reason for...!"_

_From outside the castle, a huge explosion went off, and Magoichi could be seen falling through the demolished area of where a wall had once been. _

**~End Flashback~**

"...Th-that is pretty awful." Oichi stuttered as Mitsuhide finished retelling the unfortunate event.

"Well... yeah..." Ryoko agreed. "But that's just Magoichi being an idiot. You can't really blame that on..."

"Then there was also the year before that one..." Mitsuhide continued.

**~Flashback~**

_At the Christmas party, Kai and Kunoichi were goofing off with one another as they always did, enjoying the party. They entered the next room, and looked around for some of the other junior warlords they knew. Suddenly, they spotted Yukimura standing off to the side of the room, and just as they were about to go over to talk to him, they each spotted something hanging above his head, and their eyes lit up._

_"Yukimura's under the mistletoe!" they squealed in unison. Upon hearing the outburst of the other, they turned to each other and glared. The standoff between them went on for a few seconds, before, they each bolted to where Yukimura was on the other side of the room. _

_"He's mine! I'm kissing him!" one shouted._

_"No way; I'm gonna be the one to kiss Yukimura!" the other retorted._

_Yukimura looked up from his drink and saw the two girls headed his way. He did a double take when he realized they were running all-out towards him, and his eyes widened in panic. What were they planning on doing?! In a final burst of speed, the girls pushed off the ground and leapt towards their unsuspecting target._

_"Yukimura!" they each cried out, and then they landed on top of the boy, forcing the three down to the floor._

_"I got here first! Me! Me!"_

_"You wish! I'm the one who gets to do it!"_

_"Hey, you two! Cut it out! You're crushing me!"_

_Mitsuhide rushed in as the two began to fight. "What is going on?!" he demanded, before his eyes widened. Kunoichi and Kai got to their feet, continuing to throw punches and kicks at one another._

_"I'll show you!" Kai declared. "Darumaka! Let's teach that brat a lesson with a flame wheel!"_

_"You think that's going to stop me? Please!" Kunoichi taunted back, " Sneasel, let's show her a feint attack!" _

_"Ladies, please!" Mitsuhide begged, "If you are going to fight, then at least take your fight away from the castle property!" But Mitsuhide's pleas went unheard and the warriors and Pokemon both charged at each other._

_From outside the castle, a huge explosion went off. When the smoke cleared, a huge hole could be seen where a wall had once been, and standing inside the destroyed building was a miserable-looking Mitsuhide, three junior warlords that were passed out amidst the wreckage, and two fainted Pokemon. Mitsuhide's eye twitched, and his shoulders slumped._

_"I... had just made the final payment on the repairs from last year..." he mumbled before falling back and fainting as well._

**~End Flashback~**

Everyone looked on as Mitsuhide finished his story with shock and mild fear.

"...Well..." Ryoko began, but could think of nothing else to say further. Mitsuhide, however, did not seem to have such a problem.

"And let's not forget the incident just last year..."

**~Flashback~**

_Lady No was taking a walk through the party with her Mismagius floating beside her when she noticed Lord Nobunaga walking in her direction. She beamed, and the catlike grin turned into a predatory smirk when her Mismagius motioned for her to look up at the ceiling. Mistletoe! She turned back to Nobunaga, and pretended to not notice him, placing herself in the most seductive pose she could, closing her eyes. _

_...Unfortunately for No, Nobunaga walked right past her, not seeming to have noticed her presence in the slightest._

_"...Caught under the mistletoe, eh?" someone asked her. "In that case, how about a kiss?"_

_No smiled, and turned to who she believed was Nobunaga. "Well... if you insist, my darling." she said as she leaned toward the voice and opened her eyes... to find Hideyoshi staring back at her! She squeaked and jumped back in shock._

_Hideyoshi smiled genuinely. "Aw, c'mon; don't be shy! I promise that Nene doesn't have to find out about it." he said, wiggling his eyebrows. _

_"What does Nene not have to find out about?" came a voice from behind him. Hideyoshi jumped and turned around to see Nene standing before him, looking perfectly pissed. _

_"A-a-a-aah-aah! N-N-Nene! What a coincidence seeing you here!" Hideyoshi squeaked._

_"You don't have to worry about Santa now, Hideyoshi," Nene growled, "Because you just made MY naughty list! So get ready for a giant lump!" She brought a fist to his face, and swung as hard as she could. Hideyoshi dodged the assault, and ran as fast as he could._

_"Ah! Not the face! Anything but my beautiful face!" he cried, running across the castle at top speed. At one point he ran past Mitsuhide, who groaned when he noticed the panic-stricken Warlord of Ignis dash by._

_"Oh, what now?!" he wondered, looking in the other direction to find two furious women running this way with their Pokemon gliding beside them._

_"Golbat! Don't let him get away!" Nene yelled._

_"Mismagius!" No yelled as well, "Don't let him get away IN ONE PIECE!"_

_Mismagius fired a barrage of shadow ball attacks towards Hideyoshi. From outside the castle, a huge explosion went off, leaving all but one wall of the castle completely destroyed. In the aftermath, Lady Nene could be seen in the background scolding Hideyoshi, while Mitsuhide was kneeling in the wreckage of his destroyed castle, looking ready to break down himself. No walked by him, observing the damage with minimal interest, as though she were used to such an immense amount of destruction._

_"If you ask me, I did you a favor." she muttered dryly, "Your decorating was atrocious; at least now you have a chance to start over fresh."_

**~End Flashback~**

Mitsuhide sighed, "And then there was the one year..."

"Stop!" Ryo, Ryoko and Oichi all said at once.

"Please, no more!" Ryoko continued, "We get it: mistletoe is lethal!"

Mitsuhide nodded. "And that is why you are not invited to the party this year, Lady Aya." he repeated. "With Ransei just being brought into peace, I do not want a war to start in my home because people lack common sense, and you have proven that you _cannot _be trusted."

"Very well, then." Aya replied.

"I don't want to hear another word on the sub..." Mitsuhide began, before her words finally caught up to his brain and he paused. "...Wait, what?"

Aya smiled mysteriously, and stood from her seat, brushing herself off. "I only came to confirm whether or not Illusio had received invitations to the Christmas party. If I am not invited, then there is nothing that can be done."

Mitsuhide glanced at her suspiciously. He didn't want to believe that she would take this so well, yet he could not rightfully accuse her of anything without proof. Aya had promised last time that she would not bring mistletoe into his castle, and when he had believed her, his castle had been demolished. Would he be able to trust her this time?

"Are you sure?" Mitsuhide asked.

Aya's expression remained unreadable. "You have the best intentions in mind, and I can respect that. However, I still intend to get your Christmas present to you before the 25th, so I will be returning sometime before then." She bowed to the other occupants of the room before walking towards the door. "I shall see myself out, Lord Mitsuhide. It is only fitting, seeing as I let myself in."

Before she exited the door, she turned back to the table and gave a final smile. "Oh, and do save some of the food for the ninja on the ceiling. Good day to you all, and happy holidays." She swept out of the room, her Pokemon trailing behind her.

When the door closed behind her, a blur of black and red swooped down from the ceiling and landed by Mitsuhide. Everyone stared in shock as Kunoichi and her Sneasel appeared before them. She snapped her fingers and turned to the door the woman had just left from.

"Darn it." she muttered, "She always knows where I am."

"Kunoichi?" Ryoko asked.

Ryo smiled and nodded. "I knew Kenshin wouldn't let Lady Aya leave Illusio castle alone." he stated.

"Yes, but don't you still work for Lord Shingen in Terrera?" Oichi asked.

Kunoichi nodded, and skipped over to the table with Sneasel before they both sat down next to the other young Warlords. She helped herself to one of the cookies, and poured herself a cup of hot chocolate. "Yup." she began. "But Lord Kenshin pays good money to the ninjas that follow Lady Aya around for him. It's easy work, especially when Aya is always giving out extra rewards for the trouble. Last time I followed her around for the day, she bought me and Sneasel lunch!"

"Wow." Ryoko said. "I feel bad for Aya."

"Don't be." Kunoichi stated, "Lord Kenshin may have a huge sister complex, but that's nothing compared to Lady Aya's brother complex. That's one messed up family, let me tell ya!"

Ryo nodded. "It's just not right for siblings to get along that well." he agreed.

"Hey!" Ryoko snapped, causing the group to laugh.

"So, Lord Mitsuhide." Kunoichi began, "It sounds like you're finally giving Lady Aya the boot from this year's party." She took a bite of her piece of gingerbread. "Things are going to be pretty boring this year."

"And that's exactly how I like it." Mitsuhide said without hesitation. "Boring means safe, and safe means that I won't have to spend money to make repairs on the castle..."

Mitsuhide paused, suddenly considering something. "Wait... she might have hung mistletoe when I had my back turned! Excuse me, everyone, I need to check the castle! I'll return shortly!" Mitsuhide bowed and left, dashing down the corridor in a hurry. The group that was left behind gazed out the opened doors with surprise, before returning to their snack.

"She'll still be there, you know." Kunoichi stated, taking a sip of the hot chocolate.

"You think?" Ryoko asked, turning back to her cookie. Kunoichi nodded.

"It wouldn't be the first time Mitsuhide tried to keep her out of the party. She's snuck in before, talked him into letting her in, even fought her way through once, I heard." Kunoichi continued.

"That's Lady Aya for you." Ryo mused. "Does she always do the mistletoe stunt?"

"Not always." Ranmaru replied, "Or, at least it doesn't always get out of hand. Most of the Warlords know how to be mature about it, but the others... well, Lord Mitsuhide already explained about those..."

"Well, I think she'll find a way in, too." Ryoko stated. "Like I said before, I have a feeling that this is going to be an interesting Christmas."

Ryo scoffed. "Don't try to act psychic, Ryoko." he remarked, causing his sister to huff indignantly. "Honestly, I'm with Lord Mitsuhide. I'd be perfectly fine if nothing strange or weird happens at the Christmas party. All I want to do is have a good time and see the other Warlords again without anything crazy happening."

"Here, here!" Ranmaru agreed, raising his glass in a mock toast.

"I'm rooting for Lady Aya!" Kunoichi protested, "If she's there, it'll mean that I've got another shot under the mistletoe with Yukimura!" she squealed, covering her blushing face with her hands.

Oichi smiled and nodded, fighting back the urge to look at Ryo as she blushed tried to focus on her cookies. Ryoko noticed her best friend's sheepish face, and smiled knowingly. Yeah. Without a doubt, this was going to be a _very _interesting Christmas this year.

* * *

This will be a special Christmas fic for Pokemon Conquest, if that wasn't already made obvious. I'll be trying to write this through the entirety of December, in the spirit of the holiday season. Now, here is where the fun part comes in: this fic will be entirely review-based! This means that you, the readers, shall be the ones to determine what will go on in each chapter. It's like the truth or dare fics, only everything that happens is Christmas oriented. There are quite a few things that you, the readers, can ask to be done within the chapters of this story.

1. You can request a couple to go under the mistletoe!  
For this fic, I will take all requests for pairings: Hetero, Yaoi, Yuri, Pokemon, whatever you like! As much as I dislike yaoi pairings, I can still see the humor in two male characters finding themselves trapped under the mistletoe together. :D So please, leave a couple you would like to see under the mistletoe in either a review or PM, and I will make it happen.

2. Find out who got what for their Secret Santas!  
If you're curious to know who your favorite character got as their Secret Santa, and what their present was, ask to know it in a review. For this, I have taken the liberty of doing the old 'put the names in a box and shuffle' trick to literally make the Secret Santa randomized. I didn't want the cliche of having the character end up shopping for his/her secret crush, so I put the names of each warlord in a word shuffle website, and it gave me the results. This will not only be a challenge to myself, but it will also be far more interesting than the usual 'shopping for your secret crush' story that everyone else always does.

3. Generic winter activities  
Want to see Oichi and Ryoko ice skating? Want to see the male warlords struggling to shop for presents? Want to see Kai and Kunoichi start a snowball fight? Request in a review or PM, and I will make it happen! Anything you like, so long as it has some festive aspect to it!

In Conclusion...  
One request on my part, however, only one request per review, simply because I want to give everyone an equal chance to request for something they want, and I don't want to be overwhelmed by multiple requests all at one time. Please, also feel free to ask for art requests. I will post the finished works on my DeviantART page, and tell you when they are complete. If you want to read more Pokemon Conquest stories, then please read my other fic titled Conquest Chronicles: Tales of Ransei

Sidenotes: Ryo and Ryoko are my names for the male and female heroes in Pokemon Conquest. They are twins, and in this particular story, they will be featured with a Glaceon named Yuki, and a Flareon named Mosu. They have other Eevees, but those are the two that will be seen in this story.

Thank you all for reading, and if you want to read more, than PLEASE, make a request for the next chapter. The next chapter will be written by December 1st, provided someone has written me a request. Requests close on Christmas day, and this story will be finished some time before December 31st.

**REVIEW IF YOU WANT NEW CHAPTER!**


	2. My True Love Gave to Me

Once again, I have underestimated the length of time it takes me to write something of quality, causing me to update this late. But on a positive note, this is actually a lot faster than it usually takes me to update my stories. Here's to hoping I can keep the drive going.

Notes: After much internal debate, I've decided to include my Pokémon Conquest OC, Mitsubachi into this story. If anyone wants to know what she looks like, I have a few pictures of her on my DA account, alongside her Meowth, and a character I created for a guy friend of mine, Keitatsuo. I've so far come up with two backstories for her, but the one I'm going with for this story has her coming from another country outside of Ransei. I'm leaving that part intentionally vague, only because I don't have all the details worked out yet, but when I do, I intend to turn it into a standalone fanfiction featuring my two OCs. I decided to use her in this mostly because I haven't done anything of value with her yet, and I need to develop her character more. So if you like her and want to see more of her character in this, say so in a review. If you want her to only be a background character in the story, again, review and tell me. Whether I get positive or negative results, I'm still getting feedback, and that will help me to improve.

Warning: Mitsubachi is an obsessive Aya fangirl, and will act crazy whenever Aya is within 50 feet or less of her. Read at you own risk!

That's all the commentary I will provide for now; you've all waited long enough to read this update, so just move on ahead to the chapter.

* * *

"C'mon, Ryo; hurry up! We promised Oichi we'd be in Dragnor by 5:00!" Ryoko yelled to her brother across the hall. He cringed and turned to yell out his door back at her.

"Yeah, I remember, relax! We got plenty of time until 5!" he stated before turning back to looking through the giant pile of clothes on his floor, trying to find his good kimono, which Ryoko _insisted_ that he wear to Nixtorm. Ryoko stormed into his room seconds later. She was fully dressed up in a bright red kimono, green shoes, sash, and hair bands for her pigtails. An Eevee had followed her to his room, which was wearing a matching red bow around its neck.

"No we don't, Ryo! We need to catch the next blimp out of here if we expect to get to Dragnor by 5. That blimp leaves in half an hour." she explained, "If we miss it, then we'll have to wait until the next one arrives, which won't be until an hour after the one we were _supposed _to get on left. If we miss our blimp, then we can't expect to get to Dragnor castle to get Oichi until well after 6! So no, we _don't _have 'plenty of time'!"

"Okay, okay! I get it, but I'm going as fast as I can already."

"I told you to have everything ready last week when our invitations arrived." Ryoko continued. "Did you even remember to pick up your Secret Santa gift?"

"Yes, I did." he said, crawling over to the window and picking up a wrapped box lying underneath it. "It's right here, ready to go. Though I wish it wasn't. Why'd you make me shop alone for it? I have no idea what to buy you, much less..."

"Well, it's called 'Secret Santa' for a reason." she replied simply, "If you tell me who you're shopping for, it wouldn't be a secret."

"I can't even tell _you_?" he asked, rather perplexed, "What fun is that?"

"Just get ready." Ryoko huffed, before turning to leave, "If you need any help, just call me. I'll be waiting at the front door for you with Yuki and Mosu."

Ryo grumbled to himself as his twin left him. Deciding to change his strategy a bit, he got to his feet and began grabbing at various articles of clothing suited for cold weather, and threw them in the direction of his dark blue travel bag. After a few minutes of tossing things around, he managed to find the formal kimono he had been looking for, which had been under a pile in his storage space. He shook it out and looked it over. Ryoko could probably get all the wrinkles out later, but otherwise it was clean and almost-new looking. He tossed it next to the small pile of other clothes he had made, and quickly proceeded to sloppily fold everything in the pile so to fit in the travel bag. The rest of the space in his bag was taken up by a few personal items, and was then attempted to be closed with a great deal of struggle. After failing multiple times to close the item, Ryo called one of their Eeveelutions, a Leafeon named Midori, into his room, asking her for some help. Nodding to the Warlord, Midori used her vine whip to wrap around the bag as leverage and shut it closed.

"Thanks for the help, Midori." Ryo said. Midori mewed out a 'You're welcome' and gave a happy smile back.

Ryo sighed, and knelt down to pet her behind her leaf-like ears. "I wish you and the others could come with us to celebrate, but you wouldn't be happy in Nixtorm, with all the cold snow there." he said, looking sad.

Midori only nuzzled against him, letting him know that everything was alright.

"Hey, Ryoko." he called.

"What is it?" she yelled back to him.

"What do you suppose is going to happen to everyone while we're away? Do you think the Eevees will be ok?"

"Don't worry; I talked to the lady at the Ponigiri shop, and she said that if any of them come by, they'll get free Ponigiri, and all the other shopkeepers said that they'd be nice to all of them if they wander around."

Ryoko came into his room again and smiled. "I don't think we'll have to worry about Midori much, what with all the snow outside right now. She'll be sleeping. And Joki will probably do the same if the ravine's frozen."

"Guess you're right..." Ryo said, looking back down at the grass-type. "I just wish that we could take them all with us."

Ryoko nodded, understanding what her brother meant. "I know, me too. But Midori would have a hard time in Nixtorm, and Joki wouldn't do well without a big body of water to swim around in. And the others wouldn't like the cold. You remember how much Eve hated being there when we brought her to Nixtorm the first time?"

Ryo nodded. "She made you carry her so she didn't have to touch the frozen ground." he remembered. "We had to turn back around and get Yuki to come with you instead."

"Lucky we did, or she wouldn't have evolved. You all packed?" she asked.

"Yeah, everything is right here." he replied, hefting the now fully closed bag off the ground to show her. "Just have to get changed."

"That really everything?"

"Yes." he sighed. "And the present's right here." he picked up the gift in his other hand. "So it won't get crushed by everything else."

"Well, ok. Then let's get going. I'm not gonna be happy if we miss the blimp." she told him. He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah." he conceded, watching as his sister went back down the hall. Midori got up and followed her out. Once they left, Ryo closed the door and quickly proceeded to change into the kimono he had laid out. After a few seconds of fumbling, and one instance of tripping, Ryo came out of his room with the bag over his shoulder and the present in tow. He headed down the main hall to the front of the castle. As he made his way down, he was met by a few servants and warriors, who wished him a safe trip and a happy holiday, and he returned the greetings and best wishes. Upon arriving at the entrance, he noticed Ryoko and Midori standing by the front door with two warriors, a Machoke, and a Gurdurr. Behind her was a small mountain of bags. Two he could see were her own, and three others looked like large sacs to carry the presents she had bought over the last few weeks. He was almost certain she had bought a gift for _every_ Warlord in Ransei.

"What the heck is all this junk?" he asked as he walked up to the group. Ryoko frowned.

"It's not junk." she protested. "This is all stuff I'm taking to Nixtorm. These two right here..." she indicated by picking up the two pink colored bags by their rope handles. "are my clothes, makeup, and stuff. And the other three are the gifts I bought."

"I figured as much." Ryo mumbled. "You took less stuff when we spent a _month _in Nixtorm. Why do you need all this just to spend a week there?"

"I'm going prepared. It's always better to have something and not need it than to need something and not have it." she stated rather sagely.

"It's a party, not a battlefield." Ryo said. "Did you have to buy a gift for everyone?"

"I didn't buy a gift for everyone. Just our friends. All the gifts except for the one for my Secret Santa will be addressed from both of us, so you don't have to think about that."

Ryo scoffed. "I wasn't thinking about it to begin with." he commented. "Well, let's just go. We still need to find Yuki and Mosu, too."

"They're outside, playing in the snow." Ryoko said. She scrutinized her brother a minute, looking over his appearance. "Your kimono is a mess. Do you want me to try to get the wrinkles out..."

"Do you want to go or don't you?!" Ryo asked near hysterically.

"Ok, ok. Yeah, geez. Let's go, then. I'm fixing that thing when we get to Dragnor, though. You look like you slept in it."

"Well, this is the one you wanted me to wear, so I'm wearing it."

"Whatever." Ryoko said simply, and turned to the warriors by her bags. "Well then, let's be on our way. Here, you two take these..." she handed each warrior one of her bags, and they cringed slightly under the weight. Ryo had to wonder _what _she was taking that could be so heavy. "Machoke, you can take that big bag right over there..." The Machoke smiled and did as it was told, looking eager to give its muscles a workout. "And you, Gurdurr, can take the two smaller sacs that are left." After she finished her directions, the Gurdurr went over to the remaining bags, and hoisted each one onto the giant iron beam it held, balancing them on top of it. Ryoko smiled. "Great, thanks for the help, guys."

"Of course... Ryoko...!" one of the warriors groaned from the weight of the bag.

"Glad to help!" the other grunted in reply.

Ryoko smiled and opened the doors to go outside. Ryo was about to do the same, before turning to the two soldiers and giving them an apologetic glance. "Sorry, guys." he said meekly before walking out the doors into the courtyard. Outside, they were met by a small group of Eevees and their evolutions, who ran up the moment they saw the twins coming out and started jumping up and down in excitement and nuzzling at their legs, wishing them a safe trip and a fun time in the Ice kingdom. The two Warlords smiled and kneeled down to the Eevee family so they could receive licks and hugs. They returned the affection with hugs and pats of their own.

"Thanks, guys. We'll miss you." Ryoko said, kissing one of the Eevees on its muzzle.

"We'll be back before the week is over, so we'll all celebrate together when we come back for New Year's." Ryo said. "Yuki, Mosu, would you two want to come with us? Ryoko and I thought you two would be happier in the cold weather."

The Glaceon and Flareon looked incredibly happy at the suggestion, and leaped towards the boy to hug him. "I'll take that as a 'yes', then." Ryo said happily, exchanging smiles with his sister.

"Alright, we've got to get going, then." She sighed, standing up. "Now take care of yourselves while we're away. Don't get into fights, and be polite to the cleaners and soldiers. I asked the cooks to have some special treats made for you Christmas morning." "Oh, boy." Ryo muttered as he got to his feet. Ryoko ignored him and continued to rant. "Midori, don't stay out in the snow for very long, or you might get sick. Joki, get plenty of exercise. Swim laps in the hot spring if you have to. Eve, don't let Asa get into trouble!"

"And you were telling _me_ to get going." Ryo stated, grabbing his sister's arm and gently pulling her towards the gate.

"Take care of the little Eevees!" Ryoko continued to shout. "Make sure they don't wander around and cause trouble for any of the villagers!"

"Ryoko, the other guys are going to have a heart attack pretty soon." Ryo gestured to the bag carriers struggling to hold up her luggage. "C'mon." with one final tug, he got the girl to start going towards the gates, and the two took off towards the blimp.

**~Nixtorm Castle~**

It was close to sunset in Nixtorm. The majority of the guests would be arriving within the hour. Preparations had been made weeks in advance, and everything from the decorations to the food was in perfect position. In spite of everything, Mitsuhide was still twitching with anxiousness. Even with precautions taken, he wasn't entirely sure what the outcome of this year's festival would be. This was the first Christmas Party in almost three years he had put together. Because of the war with Nobunaga and the Aurora twins, he wondered if tensions would be incredibly high still. Ryo and Ryoko had done a fine job of bringing peace, yet he was aware of how quickly and easily things could go awry when it came to the other Warlords.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Gracia and her Gothita running around the foyer with red and green streamers flying from her hands. Gracia, for whatever reason, had decided to dress up as an elf for the party. She had on a green dress with white trim, long red and green striped stockings, black buckled shoes, and a green elf hat on her head. Gothita had on a little matching green dress as well. Cute as the duo looked, he couldn't say he was happy. He had asked his daughter to wear a formal kimono he had selected for her, but it seemed she had once again ignored him. He sighed.

"Gracia, would you please not make a mess before the guests arrive?" he asked. Gracia stopped running, and the streamers floated to the ground. She started to roll up the mess and put it back where she had found the leftover decorations.

"Thank you." Mitsuhide smiled before turning his focus back to the window. Gracia ran over to him and looked out the window as well. Gothita also hopped up on the windowsill, but seemed more intrigued by something else on the seemingly empty wall across the room.

"When the guests arrive, I would like you to stand by the front doors with me to greet them." he said. Gracia whined at this.

"Aaaaaaawwww! But that's so _boring_!" she said. "When Ranmaru comes, I wanna go ice skating with him."

"You may play with Ranmaru after you greet the guests with me." Mitsuhide repeated. "You are a Warlord of this kingdom as well, dear. Because of this, you must represent our kingdom alongside me."

"Uh." Gracia pouted and leaned on the wall. Mitsuhide smiled sympathetically towards her.

"Lord Mitsuhide." a guard called as he entered the room and bowed. "Some of the guests are arriving now, My Lord. They are being escorted to the front gates as we speak."

Mitsuhide turned to address the guard. "Thank you." he said. The guard nodded before exiting the room to return to his post. Mitsuhide took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"So it begins." he muttered. "Well, we must prepare by the door. Come, Gracia. Best to have this over and done with now."

Gracia hopped up from the wall. "I guess." she said, skipping over to her father and taking his hand. He squeezed back gently before beginning to walk towards the door. Gothita stayed where she was, still rather fixated on what she was seeing.

"Be polite, and do try not to speak unless spoken to." Mitsuhide continued as they stood before the entrance.

"I know, I know." Gracia assured her father. In spite of how bored the young girl looked, it was clear that Mitsuhide was much more uncomfortable now than she was. He began counting the seconds in his head, savoring the last few minutes of peace he had before the next seven days would be thrown into a chaos that would make even Kotaro quake in terror. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his hands twitched when he thought he heard any noise outside that just turned out to be the wind. While Mitsuhide grew more anxious, Gracia became more bored, and began rocking on her feet and counting the ceiling tiles above her to pass the time.

Five minutes into this uneasy silence, a sound that could certainly not be misinterpreted as anything but footsteps and human voices met Mitsuhide's ears, and his shoulders stiffened in realization of the impending throng. "Gracia, stand up straight and stay still." he barked, and she instantly stopped her swaying, eyes darting to the door. The handles moved, and the door swung open, accompanied by whooshing of wind and flurries of snow. When the weather died down, Mitsuhide was able to make out who his first guests of the evening were.

Surprisingly, it was Lord Ryo and Lady Ryoko who caught his eyes first. He hadn't expected them until later, yet he was most certainly not disappointed. Their presence brought with it a sense of ease and assurance. If they were here, he could depend on them to help keep the party in good spirits, and perhaps no ill fate would befall his castle, or any of the guests this year.

Yet they were not alone. In addition to being accompanied by Ryoko's Glaceon and Lord Ryo's Flareon, there were also three others in their group, accompanied by their own Pokemon. Oichi was standing between the two siblings, with her Jigglypuff hanging onto the back of her hair to keep from blowing away in the wind. Oichi was not dressed as formally as the twins, who were each dressed in a crimson red and pine green kimono, respectively. Oichi instead looked much like her usual self, dressed in a bright pink kimono, with her usual hair ornaments adorning her. Ranmaru stood between Ryoko and... Lord Nobunaga. Dragonair was beside Ranmaru, as was Lord Nobunaga's Hydreigon beside himself. Mitsuhide, in spite of himself, was incredibly surprised to see his former lord here so soon. Actually, no one had seen much of Lord Nobunaga since Lord Ryo had defeated him and gained control of Ransei. Not even Oichi or Ranmaru saw much of him within Dragnor castle from what they had told him. Yet there he stood now. Lord Nobunaga certainly stood out the most from the others. He had chosen not to forego formal attire, and was in his usual armor, with no festive aspect to him. Ranmaru was in similar garb to Oichi, however, and wore a lovely deep violet kimono, with some green to its coloration. Jigglypuff was the only one of the Pokemon that was decorated, with a red bow decorating its head.

"Hi." Ryoko said with a wave, "Merry early Christmas, Mitsuhide."

"Ah, M-merry Christmas to all of you as well." Mitsuhide replied, breaking out of his momentary stupor and bowing to the five Warlords. "I am pleased that you could all make it so early. Nixtorm shall be proud to host you over the next week as guests."

"The honor is entirely ours, Lord Mitsuhide." Ryo said, bowing in return.

"Agreed." Nobunaga said. "Let us drop all formalities from this point. Past _and _future are meaningless in the throes of celebration. All that matters at this time is the present."

"Mmhm." Ryoko said. "And speaking of presents..." she giggled and took out a wrapped gift from behind her back. "Where should we put these?" she asked, while Ryo, Oichi, and Ranmaru held out their gifts as well. Ranmaru was holding two presents, which meant that one of them had to be Nobunaga's.

"The servants shall take those for you, as well as all other personal belongings of yours." Mitsuhide said, just as large group of castle staff came and took their presents, coats, gloves, scarves, and other winter wear they may have had. "The presents are to be taken to the main hall, and placed under one of the Christmas trees, while your coats and bags will be brought to the rooms you will all respectively be staying in for the week." he explained, before his brow furrowed in confusion. "Actually, the escorts should have brought your bags when you arrived... why are they not with you now?"

"Uh, they'll be a while longer." Ryo said, glancing at his sister, who's cheeks turned a bit pink and smiled, looking a bit embarrassed.

Before Mitsuhide could ask, he noticed the servants he had placed down the mountain to escort the guests coming in. Each one carried large bags behind them, seeming to struggle to carry a few of them, particularly two pink bags and three large brown sacs.

"The brown bags all have presents!" Ryoko shouted to the ones holding the specified bags, who groaned as they changed course and went through another door to elsewhere in the castle. The others carrying the unspecified bags would have it much worse though, seeing as they would have to carry them up a flight of stairs. Mitsuhide put a hand to his head, feeling a migraine beginning to appear. Perhaps he should have put more men at the foot of the mountain, or more Pokemon that could lift heavy loads...

"Did you bring gifts for everyone, Ryoko?" Mitsuhide asked, causing the girl to look annoyed as her brother and Oichi began to laugh.

"What?" Ryoko exclaimed, "Why does everyone keep asking me that?! Can't a person just try to be nice?"

"I apologize!" Mitsuhide quickly blurted, "I was only curious! It would actually have been wonderful for you to bring a gift for everyone." he smiled as extra reassurance.

Everyone stopped laughing at hearing Mitsuhide's quick apology, the three best friends sharing glances between one another. Mitsuhide really _didn't_ want anything bad to happen at this party, it appeared.

"Don't worry about it, Mitsuhide." Ryoko said. "It's no big deal."

"So where is everyone else gathered right now?" Oichi asked in order to change the subject.

"You are the first ones to arrive, actually." Mitsuhide said. Ryo turned to his sister with a teasing smirk.

"And you were worried about being late..." he said. Ryoko fumed.

"I get it, Ryo, but at least we aren't late for anything. I would have hated to find out that we had missed anything-!"

"Wh-why don't we go inside and get some drinks!" Oichi recommended to the bickering siblings, getting behind each of them and attempting to push them into the next room. Lord Mitsuhide was looking nervous again, and as a good guest, she wanted to alleviate some of his stress. "Ah, Lord Mitsuhide...?"

"Third door on the hallway to your left." Mitsuhide said, pointing in the direction of the main dining area. "Snacks should be out on the table now. Dinner will be held in two hours."

"Thank you." Oichi replied as she began to push the twins in that direction. "They should stop arguing once they get some food in them. Now come on, you two."

"You should join them." Mitsuhide said to the remaining Lord and servant from Dragnor after they had left. "The dining hall and most of the public areas are open to everyone at the moment, seeing as no damage has yet to be done to the castle."

"I shall go to my room and organize my things before joining the others." Ranmaru stated. "I will also put away your belongings, My Lord," he addressed Nobunaga, "And I believe I shall also have things done for Lord Ryo, Lady Ryoko and Lady Oichi as well." he said, as he began to head in the direction of the guests' chambers.

The two adults watched the boy go, and an amused look fell over the Dragnor Warlord's face. "Aren't you going to stop him, Mitsuhide?" he asked.

"I would like to, My Lord, but I feel as though he would be happier if I just let him be." Mitsuhide answered, recalling Ranmaru's almost obsessive compulsive tendencies.

"Is that so?" Nobunaga asked, before heading in the direction of the main hall, not saying where he was planning to be. Mitsuhide watched the other man go, and heaved a sigh of relief. He turned to his daughter. "I've changed my mind, Gracia." he said. "The next time you see Ranmaru, I _insist _you take the boy out to ice skate or sled. He needs to be convinced to enjoy himself while he is here." Gracia giggled and nodded.

"Thank you, Papa." she said.

After the first arrivals, the Warlords from the other kingdoms quickly followed in succession. For the most part, it was civil and uneventful, but a few greetings had set Mitsuhide on edge. One of which was when Spectra's two female Warlords arrived. Lady No and her junior Warlord Okuni had come almost immediately after the Warlords from Aurora and Dragnor arrived. In a matter of seconds, Okuni proved to be her usual delightful self, greeting Mitsuhide with a warm smile that instantly melted the frigid cold that they brought in with them. She had arrived with both her Scolipede and Volcarona in tow, each one wearing a Santa hat. When the servants took her coat, gloves and scarf, she was shown to be wearing a cute Santa-style dress, red with white lace trim. The dress was knee-length, and she was wearing white tights, black boots, and a Santa hat. Her makeup seemed to be what she usually wore, all except for the red lipstick she was wearing. For some reason, she was still carrying her parasol, which looked to have suffered no damage while coming here. When Mitsuhide looked closer, he noticed that a present was attached to the pole of the parasol by a string, likely the one for her Secret Santa.

Lady No, as expected, was nowhere near as conserved as her second in command was. In spite of this, her ensemble was still incredibly lovely, as well as tasteful. She had worn a thick black coat, and purple gloves and scarf in the snow, but taking it off revealed an incredibly elegant maroon evening gown with an ankle-length skirt, the entire thing embroidered with gold motifs of poinsettias. The dress was sleeveless, and low-cut, yet showed noticeably less skin than her other outfits in the past. She accessorized with gold and silver jewelry, decorating her wrists, neck, hair, ears, and half the fingers on each hand. Her earrings looked to be in the shape of what he could only hope was holly. They matched the ones Okuni was wearing, he just realized. A shawl was wrapped loosely around her arms, matching her dress, as did the high heel shoes she wore. Her hair was done up in a less messy bun than usual, and she had decided to stay heavy on the makeup. She was also holding a present. Mismagius was floating next to her.

"Welcome, Lady No. It is a pleasure to have you and Lady Okuni here." Mitsuhide said with a bow.

No smiled and walked over to him. "Drop the formalities, please dear." she said, before taking him into a hug and lightly kissing his cheek, trying to prevent any of her makeup from getting onto him. He laughed uneasily and hugged her back. "It's no way to speak to an old friend. I see you are in good health."

While the two Warlords exchanged greetings, Okuni leaned over and looked at Gracia with a smile.

"Aw, you look so cute, Gracia!" Okuni gushed, "It's like you and I match!"

"Thank you, Lady Okuni." Gracia said with a quick bow. "I like your outfit, too!"

Okuni stood up straight and looked herself over. "Would you believe that I made this myself?" she asked, "It took quite a while to find _just _what I wanted, but when I did, I spent days without rest working to have it be just per-!"

"Ohmigosh, Lady No! You look gorgeous!" Gracia cried as she turned to the ghost-type Warlord. Okuni slumped when she realized that attention was taken away from her, and started to mope. "Your dress is so pretty! I love your nails! Your hair is so shiny!"

"Oh, surely you don't mean this little thing, sweetie?" No wondered, feigning modesty. Poorly. "I just bought this on a whim. In fact I just put this together shortly before arriving. But I suppose I _do _make it look good..." Mitsuhide sighed as No carried on. "You, on the other hand, dear, are an absolute _angel _in that cute little outfit. Your father must be so proud to have such a precious little girl."

"Don't encourage." Mitsuhide whispered to her. She smiled and turned back to him.

"Ah, almost forgot. Overprotective Papa." she said with a smirk, "You know, every time I see you, I fool myself into thinking that you've gotten past that phase, and I just set myself up for disappointment. Tell me, Mitsuhide, when are you going to grow out of this phase so that I can start taking Gracia out shopping with me and Okuni?"

"I'd much sooner die." Mitsuhide exclaimed staunchly. No sighed. Several escorts came in at that time, and were heaving almost a dozen bags behind them.

"The red bag goes in the main hall!" Okuni stated, pointing to the exact bag she was indicating.

"And everything else is to be put in our rooms. All of my belongings will have my name attached to the bags."

"Yes, Milady." came the replies from the escorts.

After gazing after her bags until they were out of sight, No turned back to Mitsuhide again to continue their conversation. "Is Lord Nobunaga here yet?"

"He arrived a short while ago. Although, I take it you already knew that." Mitsuhide stated, watching the woman go into 'predatory mode'.

"I...may have decided to take a detour through Dragnor before arriving at your castle." she said mischievously.

"She had us waiting outside Dragnor castle for hours until she saw Lord Nobunaga leave." Okuni stated without humor. No glared at the younger girl for this statement, yet she made no move to deny it.

Mitsuhide exhaled a breath of air. "Lord Ryo, Lady Ryoko, Lady Oichi and Ranmaru are also present as well. If you would like, they are in the dining hall at the moment."

No raised a well-manicured eyebrow. "Is that all?" she wondered.

"At the moment, yes." Mitsuhide confirmed.

"Are you sure I won't have the displeasure of running into the old ghost just yet?" No asked suspiciously, venom evident in her voice.

"If you are referring to Lady Aya," Mitsuhide remarked, "then no, you will not be seeing her. I did not invite her this year, so she will not be in attendance."

Okuni seemed a bit disappointed at this news, but it was very obvious that Lady No was ecstatic by this information when her eyes lit up brighter than any Christmas lights, and she beamed from ear to ear.

"Oh, Mitsuhide!" She laughed, grabbing his face and pulling him forward so she could kiss both his cheeks. "You got me _just _what I wanted for Christmas!" she said, and walked quickly towards the dining hall. "Oh, this calls for a celebration; I am going to treat myself to the best _sake _you have, Mitsuhide!"

Okuni sighed, and followed behind her Lady. "Well, I guess I should follow her." she said. "I suppose I shall see you later, Lord Mitsuhide."

Mitsuhide smile. "Please, enjoy yourself, Okuni. That will make everything worthwhile for me if everyone is able to relax."

Okuni grinned at the advice. "Ok, then." she said, before going off to the dining hall to visit everyone.

The next person to arrive was Lord Motochika from Fontaine, accompanied by his Dewott. Being old friends with Mitsuhide, the two spoke to each other for a while until the next group of guests arrived, Lady Ginchiyo and Lord Muneshige, who quickly exchanged greetings with their host, and moved to the dining hall with the others. Motochika then decided to leave the conversation as well, stating that he wanted to play some music in the main hall and left. Afterwards came Lady Nene of Viperia, and Lord Hideyoshi of Ignis. They had the largest group by far, with Hideyoshi's top strategists, Hanbei and Kanbei accompanying him, and Nene's second-in-command, Hanzo, in the group as well. In addition, there were three small children that Nene had ushered in, which Mitsuhide knew he had never seen before. All of them were dressed up like elves, and none of them looked like they were happy about this fact. In addition, Hideyoshi, was wearing a Santa suit, and Nene was in a red dress with white trim, both of them wearing Santa hats. Hanbei, while having substituted the elf costume for a goldenrod colored kimono, was wearing an elf hat instead of his usual one. Neither Hanzo or Kanbei had dressed up in any way, but somehow Kanbei had been convinced into one of the elf hats as well. It seemed as though he was choosing not to acknowledge this, however, and if anyone were to ask, he might have denied the hat's very existence. With the human guests, also stood their Pokemon: Infernape, Crobat, Pikachu and Mareep, Duskull and Lampent, and Haunter. The three children didn't seem to have any Pokemon with them.

Greetings were exchanged, as well as hugs from Nene and handshakes from Hanbei and Hideyoshi. And after that was out of the way, Nene pulled Mitsuhide to the side and turned to the three kids she had brought along with her.

"I hope you don't mind, Mitsuhide, but I brought along these sweet boys with us. They've been wandering around Viperia lately, and I just couldn't stand to see them out on streets during Christmas of all times, so I had them come along with us."

"Why is it that everyone always assumes we're homeless?" The shortest boy with red hair asked.

"Maybe because we are." the white haired one reasoned.

"We're _not _homeless, fool. We just choose not to live in one place!"

"Aren't they just the cutest things?!" Nene squealed. "And look, they match little Gracia!"

"We are _not cute_, lady!" The red haired one protested.

"Shut up, big head!" The last boy with dark hair said. "I'm okay with being cute if it means that we get free food and a place to stay."

"Now you three boys behave now, or Santa won't bring you any presents for Christmas!"

"Gah! I promise we'll be good Lady... uh, Lady... whoever you are!"

"I don't need anything for Christmas, My Lady." the white haired one said. "I'm just happy to be here rather than outside in the cold."

"Hmph. Only an idiot would believe in Santa!" the red haired one snipped.

Nene frowned. "Don't be such a joker! Santa is real, and you are going to be a good boy for him, aren't you?"

"I'd rather freeze to death in the mountains than stay here and listen to some old lady tell me what to do-!"

Before he could finish that thought, Nene had bopped the boy of the head, and took his ear in her hand.

"Well, now that you've calmed down, allow me to introduce you nice boys to Lord Mitsuhide. This rambunctious little one right here is Mitsunari..." she said, gesturing to the red haired one, who appeared to have gone dizzy from the blow he took to the head. "Pleasure..." he said in a delirious voice. "That darling little gentleman right next to him is Kiyomasa..." Nene continued.

Kiyomasa blushed a deep red at the compliment he was given, but managed to bow politely to Mitsuhide. "Thank you for having us, sir." he said quietly.

"And the little tough guy right here is Masanori." Nene finished. the last boy blushed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well, she's right about the 'tough guy' part, anyway." He said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you three." Mitsuhide said, "It will be nice for Gracia to have more playmates her own age around the castle."

Gracia beamed. "We're going to have an awesome time together! I'm gonna show you guys _all around _Nixtorm!"

"What makes you think we'll follow you anywhere?" Mitsunari asked.

"Don't be rude, young man!" Nene scolded, pulling at his ear again.

"I'm sure we'll get along fine, Gracia." Kiyomasa said. "Ignore that fool; he prefers to do things his own way."

"Hey! Why'd you call me a fool for?!" Masanori exclaimed.

"I was talking about Mitsunari."

"...Oh.

"But you're a fool, too."

"Hey!"

"You three need to stop fighting right now! It's not too late to end up on Santa's naughty list!"

When Nene had finally manage to end her 'children's' squabbling, the small 'family' went to the dining hall. Mitsuhide was grateful when they did. After that, he didn't want to even think of what would happen when Nene finally had children of her own! Lord Yoshihiro and his Gurdurr arrived later, briefly greeting his host and going to the dining hall. He was followed by Terrera, and before Terrera had a chance to get settled in, the Warlords of Cragspur came marching in. Lord Shingen and Lord Ujiyasu had butted heads a bit, but only in good fun. It was Kunoichi and Kai that started tearing into each other, with their Darumaka and Sneasel imitating the two girls move for move. For the life of him, Mitsuhide didn't know whether they truly hated each other, or if this was merely friendly teasing. Fortunately, Shingen's apprentice, Yukimura, got between the two, along with his Charizard and Pignite, and the three were talking as close friends from there. While the three young Warlords went to the main hall to continue their conversation, the veteran Warlords and their own Pokemon, Rhyperior and Gigalith, went to the dining hall to get something to eat, while continuing their friendly debate. As they left, Mitsuhide thought he saw two shadows, one trailing behind Lord Ujiyasu, and the other travelling behind his Gigalith. He wondered briefly if it was Kotaro and his Zoroark.

"Hey, Lord Mitsuhide. Long time no see." a rather enthusiastic voice said behind him, startling him from his thoughts. He turned around swiftly to face the unfamiliar voice, and was shocked by who the person turned out to be.

"Lady Mitsubachi?!" Mitsuhide asked in disbelief.

Gracia smiled. "Wow; Lady Mitsubachi! It's great to see you again!" she said.

"Nice to see you too, Gracia." Mitsubachi agreed, "Even if you have turned into an elf." she joked before turning to face Mitsuhide. "Sorry. Guess I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that." she apologized, offering a smile that reminded him too much of another woman's for comfort.

"N-no, no. That is quite alright." He said. "Although, I am curious as to what you are doing here. I would think that you would wish to be home with your family for Christmas. Do your parents know that you are here?"

"Of course; I would never use the portals without first telling them that I was going to Ransei." she assured, "For the record, I won't be staying all through the holidays. My, uh, parents invited my cousin to my Father's castle for a few days, the one that's married. I'm having some personal issues with her right now that I'd prefer to avoid for a while. And about a week ago, Lady Aya invited me to your party as her guest, so Meowth and I decided to accept her invitation..." she gestured to the Meowth that was laying on top of her head.

"Lady Aya invited you?!" Mitsuhide asked suspiciously. Mitsubachi raised her eyebrows.

"Yes. Is that a problem? Because she told me it wouldn't be a burden."

"Ah, Mitsu-chan! I see you've made it safe and sound."

Mitsuhide paled considerably. That voice... no. It couldn't be...It. She BLOODY _promised_!

"Kyaa!" Mitsubachi squealed, jumping up and down, completely fangirling, for lack of better word. "Lady Aya! You look so Preeeeetty!"

In spite of his better judgment and every self-preservation instinct in his body, Mitsuhide turned around to face his worst nightmare. Lady Aya. She was standing in the doorway, dressed in an elegant pure white dress that fell down to her ankles and fully covered her arms, accessorized with an equally white hooded cape that had white fur trim all around it. she wore all silver jewelry, including two silver bands on each ring finger, a choker necklace with an aquamarine colored jewel in its centre, and diamond studded silver earrings. Her dark hair fell down her face as it always did, with nothing special being done. Her lips were a darker shade of red than normal, and the rest of her makeup made her look even whiter than usual. She was holding her Cubchoo in her arms who was wearing a Santa hat, and Froslass was at her side as always. Kanetsugu was to her right, glaring at the teenage girl that was standing behind Mitsuhide. He was dressed in a pale blue kimono. Kadabra was at his side, next to Froslass. And to her left, Aya was hanging off the arm of her younger brother, Kenshin, who also appeared to have done little to dress up for the occasion. Gallade was next to him.

"Oh, thank you, my dear." Aya replied as gave the younger girl a warm smile in gratitude. "I must say, you look equally charming tonight. You always clean up so well, doesn't she, Kanetsugu?" Kanetsugu, still in shock from seeing the girl there, couldn't find the voice to answer right away, so Aya merely shrugged and brought her attention back to her favorite female student. Mitsubachi, while not inherently attractive, was still a quite striking girl. Her current outfit was evidence of this. Almost a contrast to what Aya wore, Mitsubachi was dressed in pure black from head to toe. Her dress reached down to her ankles, with the sleeves dropping down to her wrists, with the fabric loose around her arms and legs, but snug around her body, and the top of the dress covered all the way up to her neck. An amulet rested on her neck, which appeared to be carved out of ivory and ebony, with an aquamarine jewel in the centre as well. This was the only jewelry she wore, save for the golden headband on her forehead, which was a treasured family heirloom that she never took off. She had made antler attachments to put on the headband, that looked like they were cast out of iron and painted black. Her dark brown and black hair went down her back in natural waves, and she wore no makeup save for black nail polish. Snaked around her arms was a black sash similar to the one No had. She was wearing laced boots underneath her dress. As for her Meowth, he was wearing a gold and black ribbon around his neck, matching his partner's color scheme perfectly.

Kanetsugu continued to glare at Mitsubachi, completely floored and angry that she was here. "You look like the face of pure evil." Kanetsugu said to her without any tone evident in his voice. Yet to Mitsubachi, however, she took this as a compliment.

"That's sweet of you to say, Abra-boy." Mitsubachi stated, one of Aya's signature smiles once again mimicked on her pale lips. "At least one of us should have a bit of personality to themselves."

"I have PLENTY of personality, for your information!" Kanetsugu protested.

Mitsubachi snickered. "Oh, boy. Do you ever."

"What does _that _mean, you honorless-!"

"My, are you two at each other's throats so soon?" Aya asked with amusement. "Perhaps you could save your darling quarrel at least until after we have properly greeted our host. Wouldn't you say so, Lord Mitsuhide?" Upon being addressed directly, Mitsuhide's shock was broken, and his anger was ignited.

"I-I, I, I...I thought you said that you would not come!" Mitsuhide declared, pointing to the woman in question. "I should have known that you would completely disregard my warnings, my begging-!"

"Before you continue your rantings..." Aya said with a raised hand. "I should have you know that I was, indeed, invited to the party."

"I never sent you an invitation!" Mitsuhide declared.

"I never said you did." Aya said, "But I am still attending as my dear brother's guest."

Mitsuhide's face dropped. "As your brother's guest?" he repeated.

Aya snuggled closer to Kenshin. "Yes. I am Kenshin's date for the week." she explained. An awkward silence fell through the room after she said this. Kenshin appeared as though he wanted to facepalm, Kanetsugu looked incredibly uncomfortable, as well as depressed, Gracia was too young to understand the implication, and Mitsuhide looked just as uncomfortable as Kanetsugu did. It was Mitsubachi who finally broke the silence. She started snorting, attempting to hold back laughter, but finally lost the battle and succumbed to rib-breaking witch-like cackles.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha haaa! Tha-that's _gold_! Oh, I love you, Lady Aya! I love you so much!" she exclaimed through laughter, "I-I...I should have brought _my _brother as a date, too! Oh I wish I had thought of that!"

"The next time you are in Illusio, remember to bring your brother along, my dear, and we will have a double date." Aya said, completely serious.

"Oh, Lady Aya!" Mitsubachi gushed with hearts in her eyes, "You don't know how happy it would make me to go on a date with _you!_" Aya giggled at the comment, understanding that Mitsubachi was only having fun. Kanetsugu, however, was fuming from the notion of his greatest rival for Lady Aya's affections dating his teacher. Mitsuhide observed Mitsubachi's behavior, remembering that she held an immense adoration for Lady Aya that verged on an all-consuming obsession for the woman. It made him wonder if Aya might have given any mistletoe to her and was going to have the girl go around and do her work for her. Mitsubachi wouldn't hesitate to do anything to please Aya, no matter how bad things got. Realizing this, Mitsuhide decided to interrogate Mitsubachi about it later. If she knew she was discovered, she wouldn't try to do it, even with Aya's affections on the line.

"If you two would _kindly _discuss this _anywhere else_!" Mitsuhide demanded. "And as for _you_!" he pointed to Aya again. "I will not let you into the castle any further until I am fully convinced that you will not be a nuisance to my _invited _guests!

Aya did not falter under Mitsuhide's anger. "I can tell you in full certainly, Mitsuhide, that I am not coveting any mistletoe. You have my word. This year, I intend to enjoy the party rather than string mistletoe across the whole of the castle."

"I do not believe you." Mitsuhide said without hesitation. "You have proven that you cannot be trusted, and until I am given proof of your innocence, I cannot let you pass."

Aya's smile turned wicked, and her eyes began to gleam with the same impishness of Mitsubachi's Meowth. "Well then, Mitsuhide, it seems you are in quite a predicament." she chuckled, "I do not believe there is quite any way for you to prove without doubt my innocence or my guilt... unless, of course, you intend to strip me of my garments right here."

Kanetsugu began choking on his own spit after Aya made this assessment, and Mitsuhide turned bright red at the very idea. His eyes briefly flickered to Aya, who had extended her arms as a show of sport. This only caused Mitsuhide to turn redder, and and he turned his eyes so to observe anything other than the evil, yet admittedly attractive woman before him. As if to further rub salt in his wounds, his eyes landed on Lord Kenshin, who was glaring burning daggers into Mitsuhide. Mitsuhide flinched, and took several steps back in fear. He was well aware of Lord Kenshin's protectiveness of his sister, and even the slightest implication of her being hurt or violated in any way would give the powerful Warlord grounds to hunt a man down and tear his head from his shoulders. Realizing that Aya had cornered him for the moment, he decided it would be best to just give her what she wanted.

"Very well." Mitsuhide sighed, "Against my better judgment, I shall give you ONE, SINGLE CHANCE! If I see any indication of mistletoe in my castle for the next seven days, I shall not hesitate to throw you out of the castle! Am I understood?"

Aya's smile turned victorious. "Clear as crystal." she said. "Although, I still feel obligated to say that I truly am not harboring any ill intentions of using mistletoe, Mitsuhide. Like I said, I only want to enjoy the party this year."

"Well, forgive me if I still cannot believe that." Mitsuhide said.

"Is the offer to strip you still open?" Mitsubachi asked. Kanetsugu, who had just gotten back to breathing normal, was once again hacking and coughing as a result of her words. Kenshin looked annoyed, but didn't seem to want to hurt the girl like he had Mitsuhide. Aya was the only one who seemed to treat the question normally, and she giggled as a light blush formed on her face.

"Well, we have a great deal to catch up on, my dear. How about we go to the hot springs after dinner, and I let you wash my back." Aya offered as she and Mitsubachi began to walk towards the dining hall.

"Oh, My Lady, you spoil me!" Mitsubachi squealed.

"...I hate her." Kanetsugu croaked as he began to regain his breath once again. "I hate her so much."

"Well, I hate to upset you, Kanetsugu," Mitsuhide said, "but I will be allowing Mitsubachi to stay."

"WHAT?!" Kanetsugu hollered, "But she- she!"

"She will only be staying for a few days; I can only imagine she intends to spend Christmas with her family, after all." the Nixtorm Warlord reasoned, "Besides, if she is here, perhaps Lady Aya will be more interested in spending time with her than being up to her usual antics."

Kanetsugu growled, "I'd much rather the whole of Ransei burn than leave My Lady in the presence of that witch for more than two seconds!" he declared before marching after the two females.

"I'd much rather my castle _didn't _burn!" Mitsuhide called after him. Kenshin was the only one remaining. He walked over to Mitsuhide and gave him a death stare that lasted for several seconds before the God of War decided to take his leave, though his eyes still glared through Mitsuhide's skull even as he left for the main hall. With a chill going up his spine, Mitsuhide realized that he would be on Kenshin's bad side for the rest of the week, and perhaps longer. He groaned in annoyance. Could this _be _any worse?

Most certainly.

After the unholy terror of dealing with Illusio's Warlords, in addition to the unexpected, but not entirely negative visit from Lady Mitsubachi, the arrivals of the remaining Warlords was relatively tame. Yoshimoto arrived next with Pineco, followed later by Lord Ieyasu, Lord Tadakatsu and Lady Ina from Valora, with their respective Pokemon, Aggron, Metagross, and Piplup. Masamune and Magoichi arrived soon after, the one-eyed Warlord of Avia having been flown by his Braviary, while Magoichi and his Grovyle had been forced to walk. The two had gotten into a fight over this fact, which dissipated only when Magoichi began to flirt with one of the maids that was passing by at the time. The final arrival of the evening, quite expectedly, was Lord Motonari and Servine, who had the longest ways to travel to get to Nixtorm.

"Alright, Gracia." Mitsuhide said, breathing in a sigh of relief. "That should be everyone. For tonight. Lord Keiji will not be coming until tomorrow."

"Sooo, then I can go and play now?" she asked excitedly.

Mitsuhide nodded. "You have a good half hour until dinner is served. Why don't you enjoy yourself a little."

"Yay!" she shouted, before turning and running towards the main hall.

After she left, Mitsubachi came out through another door with her Meowth still on her head, both looking overwhelmed.

"Whew!" she exclaimed. "I had forgotten how many faces I knew in Ransei. By Uxie, I hate memorizing names." She turned to face Mitsuhide, and smiled, "So, Lady No tells me that you throw this party every year? I give you credit, My Lord. My parents do something similar for our extended family, but not to this magnitude. I'm certainly going to hate having to throw these parties when I inherit my mother's position as guardian."

"...Mitsubachi?" Mitsuhide asked. "Could you answer something honestly for me?"

Mitsubachi raised an eyebrow. "It's impossible for me to do otherwise; I can't lie without laughing." she stated honestly.

"If that is so, then answer me this: has Lady Aya asked you to hang mistletoe for her?"

"Hang what?" she asked.

"Mistletoe. That holiday tradition."

"...Sorry, Mitsuhide, but it must only be a tradition in Ransei, because we don't have those in my home." she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Mistletoe. It is a plant you hang up for Christmas, and when two people walk underneath it they have to kiss one another." Mitsuhide explained, making sure that there wasn't a different word or meaning in her custom that would confuse her.

"Sorry." Mitsubachi said again. "We do have these little green plants with berries that we decorate houses with, and it symbolizes..."

"That is holly, Mitsubachi." he said. "We have that here as well."

"Oh, ok. Then I can't say that I know." she said honestly. Mitsuhide could tell that she was being truthful.

"And Lady Aya didn't give you anything with a similar description, did she?" he pressed.

"No." Mitsubachi said. "What, is mistletoe some sort of aphrodisiac here or something?" she asked skeptically. "Because if passing around drugs is a holiday tradition..."

"No, it's nothing like that." Mitsuhide quickly corrected her. "I just... wanted to make sure that Aya hadn't roped you into doing any dirty work for her." he explained.

Mitsubachi shook her head. "I just came here via the portal systems about an hour ago. Lady Aya hasn't had time to recruit me into any of her shenanigans. You'd be better off asking Abra-boy if you think something's up." she offered, trying to be polite. It was obvious that Mitsuhide was under a great deal of pressure at the moment, and he just wanting things to run as smoothly as possible.

"Kanetsugu doesn't cause trouble." Mitsuhide responded. The girl scoffed.

"Yeah, but the man is a love freak." she countered, "Not to mention Aya's depraved fanboy."

"Point taken." Mitsuhide acknowledged. "I'll ask him later, then."

"Why not right now?" she asked.

"Because right now, I need to lock myself out of the castle for...oh, I'd say the rest of the week." He said, before walking towards the door, and slamming it shut behind him.

Mitsubachi grinned after he had left. She still had no idea what was going on, but in the hour that she had spent at the party so far, she could tell that she had made the right decision in coming to Ransei again. ...Maybe she could try to convince her brother and Keitatsuo to come over here with her. She felt like this was something they would enjoy being a part of.

* * *

...I believe I've mentally scarred all of you enough for one day! I think I'll take a break here and get some much-needed sleep.

So, just for a few end-notes, Mitsubachi is an apprentice that Aya is currently teaching, and because of her adoration for Aya, she and Kanetsugu are rivals for their teacher's affections. Mitsubachi doesn't hate Kanetsugu the way he does her, but she does possess a great love for trolling him whenever possible, and she'll typically gain Aya's attention more simply because the two are very similar. For the record, she's also not literally **in **love with Aya, she and Aya just like to pretend that she is. Why? Because it's funny! Mitsubachi's favorite nickname for Kanetsugu is Abra-boy. Why? Because I couldn't come up with anything more creative! She constantly wears a gold, tiara-like headplate/headband that is a family heirloom passed down to her from her mother. She made these attachments that she could clip onto the sides of it, in the shape of horns, antlers, trees, Meowth ears, and other things(her favorites to use are the horns). Mitsubachi also has a younger brother, but interestingly, I had made this a part of her character before I even knew Kenshin and Aya were siblings, much less who they were at all.

Just to confirm that I have read and acknowledged all of your generous reviews so far, here's a little list for everyone:

**SoraKaze**: Gracia teaching Ranmaru to ice skate.  
Sidenote: First off, thank you for being the first one to review! Your request will probably be in the next chapter. I'll enjoy writing it, as it would be an idea that probably wouldn't have come to me except as an afterthought originally. Thank you, and please, keep reading.

**Imperator Justinian**: Have Nene force Ieyasu to dress up as Santa for the kids.  
Sidenote: Thanks for the great idea. Honestly, I don't think it's strange at all (you've seen what nightmare fuel I've been writing so far), I really like the idea, and I can totally see it happening without needing too much effort to visualize such a scenario. Not sure yet when I'll incorporate it in, but be sure to keep reading so you don't miss it.

**Guest A**: GraciaxRanmaru under the mistletoe.  
Sidenote: Thanks for giving me my first pairing request. I have a rather good idea of what I want to do with that one, but it won't come in 'til later, so please, keep reading until I get to it.

**SuClover**: Who Hanbei and Ryoko got for their Secret Santas (HanbeixRyoko)  
Sidenote: Do you mean who they got presents from, or who they have to give presents to? Either way, I can do both, just curious what you meant. Same with asking for HanbeixRyoko. Do you want them under the mistletoe, or something else? Sorry to sound like a prude, but I'd just like some more specific requests, that's all. But I will still accept your request(s?), and complete them as best I can. Be patient, and keep reading!

**Guest B**: See who Nobunaga gives a gift to + Mitsuhide's reaction to Gracia under the mistletoe.  
Sidenote: the Mitsuhide request will be played in later in the story, so stick around to read that one. Nobunaga may also come later, because the Secret Santa gifts will be opened on Christmas Eve. Thanks for the requests, though. They're really good.

**B323Glaceon The Ice Queen4831**: Have Kanetsugu kiss Aya under the mistletoe with everyone watching.  
Sidenotes: Hehe I should have seen this one coming... oh, wait... I DID! I was planning on doing this one regardless of any requests, my dear! It's set to happen towards the end of the story, so to give Aya her just desserts. As much as I love her, she kinda deserves it for messing with people's lips. XD

Well, now that all of your reviews have been taken into account and are pending to be transferred through a brainstorm, I invite you all to request something else that comes to mind. Please remember that for this particular story, any requests must have something to do with Christmas or winter. Any non-festive requests may be transferred over to my Conquest Chronicles story, if you like. Fanart requests will also be accepted. And don't forget, the more requests I get, the more chapters I'll post! With that said, I go to take a nap and replenish my spiritual batteries!

**REVIEW IF YOU WANT NEW CHAPTER!**


	3. Twelve Rules for Living

This chapter took me MUCH longer than it should have, and for that, I apologize. I had some minor roadblocks here and there, none the least of which was a constant need for sleep. But I am relieved that this is finally up and plan to get onto the next chapter as soon as my limited willpower allows me.

Notes for this chapter: Well, the Christmas party has finally kicked off, and with it, the first chapter featuring a request! So, **SoraKaze,** I'm happy to report that you'll get your scene with Gracia attempting to teach Ranmaru how to ice skate. I hope it is a good read for you, as well as everyone else. Don't let the fact that it took so long fool you into thinking I had a hard time with this chapter. Actually, this was lots of fun to write, and I enjoyed the dialogue and scenarios I came up with for everyone involved. My only disappointment is that I had planned on putting one or two other requests in this chapter, but couldn't fit them in as I became so immersed in the ice skating scene, and went into a moderate amount of detail with it.

So, that's one request down, and all the others left to go. Actually, I put together a checklist for myself while I write this story, and so far, this is where the requests stand:

**Finished:**  
Gracia teaching Ranmaru how to skate (SoraKaze)

**Requests to do ASAP:  
**Nene having Ieyasu dress up as Santa, and sub sequentially Tadakatsu being his elf (Imperator Justinian and Guest 3, respectively)  
HanbeixRyoko mistletoe scene (SuClover)  
Kenshin, Shingen and Ujiyasu have an eggnog drinking competition. (Imperator Justinian)  
YukimuraxRyoko scene; out shopping together (Blue Egg)

**Requests to Complete Later (Probably in order):**  
GraciaxRanmaru mistletoe scene (Guest 1)  
Mitsuhide's reaction to GraciaxRanmaru mistletoe scene (Guest 2)  
KanetsuguxAya mistletoe scene (requested twice by B323Glaceon the Ice Queen4831 and SoraKaze, respectively)  
Kenshin's reaction to KanetsuguxAya mistletoe scene (SoraKaze)  
Secret Santas for everyone; Nobunaga, Hanbei and Ryoko asked for specifically so far (Guest 2 and SuClover)  
RyoxOichi scene (Guest 4)  
These last ones will be completed this way for a reason. You'll see why when we get to that part of the story. :)

All I have left to say is to prepare for more insanity in this upcoming chapter. Enjoy the insanity!

* * *

After all the Warlords had arrived, and the dinner had been prepared, everyone was escorted by servants to the banquet hall, which was beautifully decorated in a color scheme of white, gold and silver. There were five tables set up in the room, two with nine chairs around them each, two with eight chairs each, and the final one having only five to it. Plates and silverware had been placed before each seat already, and on top of each plate was a card with a name on it. Evidently, this was meant to be a seating arrangement for everyone to follow. In past years, Mitsuhide had never established seating arrangements, but no one thought much of it as they sat down in their predetermined spots. At the first table sat Mitsuhide, then, going from his right around, Motochika, Ieyasu, Tadakatsu, Hideyoshi, Nene, No, and finally Nobunaga. Keiji's seat was absent at the moment. The next table over had, once more going around, Shingen, Kenshin, Aya, Ujiyasu, Yoshimoto, Yoshihiro, Ginchiyo, Muneshige, and finally Motonari. At the third table sat Ryo, Ryoko, Oichi, Kunoichi, Kai, Masamune, Magoichi, and Okuni. The fourth table had Yukimura, Ina, Kanetsugu, Mitsubachi, Hanbei, Kanbei, Hanzo and Kotaro. The final table seated the five youngest Warlords, Gracia, Ranmaru, Mitsunari, Kiyomasa and Masanori. The Pokemon were all nearby their respective Warlords, each with a bowl of food put out for them. Once everyone had settled into their places, Mitsuhide rose from his seat and walked to the center of the room, placing himself between the corners of the first four tables.

"If I could have everyone's attention, please!" he called, ringing the crystal glass in his hand with a spoon. "Attention, everyone! Thank you." When everything had gone silent, he continued. "Before the banquet is brought out, I would like to say a few words. To start, I would like to thank you all for being here to spend the holidays with one another. To have the Warlords of the seventeen kingdoms be sharing one castle to celebrate Christmas together shows the spirit of unity and peace existing between us. Although Nixtorm castle has had the honor of hosting this event for several decades, this will be one of the first years over the course of nearly a five decade time span that Warlords from every kingdom in Ransei will be present, and the first year that Ransei shall celebrate Christmas as a unified country! I feel, for this reason, that we owe a moment of gratitude to the ones responsible for this peace we experience. So please join me in a toast to Ransei's unifiers, Lord Ryo and Lady Ryoko of Aurora! We are ever grateful for what you have done."

Everyone smiled and raised their glasses in toast, while shouting in unison, "To Lord Ryo and Lady Ryoko!" The twins themselves were the only ones that didn't toast, both blushing deep red from embarrassment. Ryo slouched in his seat, trying to make himself less noticeable, while Ryoko stood up quickly and bowed to everyone. "Uh... Thank you so much, everyone." she mumbled sheepishly. "It's really nice of you..." she trailed off before sitting back down, trying to make the redness on her face subside.

Mitsuhide smiled back to the shy twins, before continuing. "In addition, we have another surprise guest with us, as most of you are probably already aware. Lady Mitsubachi shall be spending the next few days here to celebrate the holidays, so we are pleased to welcome her back to Ransei, especially at such a wonderful occasion.

Several of the Warlords then proceeded to call out welcome backs to the teenage girl, Kai Kunoichi, Ryoko and Okuni all began to squeal out various over enthusiastic greetings to her, and Kanetsugu rolled his eyes in contempt. As for Mitsubachi, her pale white skin turned dark crimson from all the attention, and she looked down at her plate so her hair could fall over her face. Even so, she was still smiling wide. She didn't realize how much the other Warlords really liked her. "I... Um, thanks." She whispered before slouching back just as Ryo had.

"Well, enough embarrassment for now." Mitsuhide chuckled, prompting some laughter from the others. "Onto the next topic. As the lord of this castle, I invite you all to enjoy yourselves for the upcoming week, where Nixtorm will be hosting various events and activities that we hope many of you would care to participate in. From now until Christmas Eve, a morning meal shall be served in the banquet hall between the hours of six and nine each day. Lunches will be served in here between eleven and two, and in the evenings, dinner will be available from six to eight. Snacks will be readily available in the dining hall at all times. If you decide to go off castle property at any time, which I'm sure all of you will want to do at least once, I invite you to explore and shop in the village stores, and have a meal at any of the restaurants nearby. The Secret Santas will be exchanged on Christmas Eve as usual, and any other presents brought will be distributed and opened Christmas Day. There will be a Christmas tree lighting in the main hall immediately following dinner tonight, and if anyone is interested, tomorrow morning's events shall be posted on each of your bedroom doors. If anyone has any questions regarding this, or anything else, please direct them to me, or any of the other castle staff later..."

"Hey, I've got a question, Lord Mitsuhide!" Everyone turned to see Masamune standing from his spot, and waving around a piece of paper in his hand.

"...Yes; what is it, Lord Masamune?" Mitsuhide asked.

"I went into my room to unpack my belongings when I arrived, and I found this list of rules on my futon, stating what was not allowed during my stay here!" He shouted, flailing around the offending article.

Mitsuhide groaned, having seen this coming when he had originally made up the lists. "Yes, thank you for reminding me, Lord Masamune." he directed the young Warlord before addressing the entire banquet hall. "Also located in everyone's room shall be a list of rules and regulations to follow while spending your holiday in the castle. If you have not yet seen these rules, then I advise you all to read them over as soon as possible, and follow them as closely as you can during your time here. It is my hope that these rules shall make this a safer, and ultimately more enriching holiday experience for everyone." This explanation caused an uproar among the Warlords, particularly those who had already been to their rooms and read through the list presented.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Kunoichi cried, "I thought someone was playing a joke on me when I saw this thing; there's no way you're being serious!"

"I don't understand why those are in _everyone's _bedrooms." Hideyoshi complained, crossing his arms, "_Most _of us know how to be mature and civil! Why are you targeting everyone for bad behavior before we even do anything?!"

"I did not wish to signal anyone out!" Mitsuhide explained.

"It is an insult!" Masamune continued, "Most of your so-called 'rules' are common knowledge that even a complete imbecile would understand without instruction! 'Clean up all messes that you or your Pokemon make?' 'All potential disputes are to be settled peacefully. No battles on castle property?' What are we, five-year-olds?!"

"The only person who ever does pranks is Kunoichi; why do you have to tell _all of us _not to do pranks as a rule?" Kai protested.

"You're one to talk!" Kunoichi shot back, "Starting snowball fights like some barbarian!"

"What did you just call me?!" Kai raged.

"'Men and women may not share the same bedroom at any time?!'" Magoichi hollered, "This is an outrage! I have a medical condition, Mitsuhide! If I'm not constantly surrounded by women, I'll go into a coma and die!"

"This is an offense to the dignity of myself and my kingdom!" Kanetsugu declared, "How dare you presume that I lack honor!"

Mitsubachi scoffed from next to him. "If you had any dignity to your name, you wouldn't be wearing those ridiculous hats all the time." she snickered. Kanetsugu glared at her.

"Do not ridicule my hat!"

"While we're on the topic of things that don't make sense..." Mitsubachi said, ignoring Kanetsugu's threats. "I can't say I understand why the seating arrangements are necessary. You're just asking for trouble when you make things so narrow-ended. Besides..." she smirked and ran over to where Aya was sitting, placing herself between her idol and Ujiyasu. She leaned over and hugged Aya around the shoulders. "Your arrangement's all off. Anyone with eyes could see that I belong at Lady Aya's right-hand side." she said. Aya giggled. Looking on for a moment with jealousy, Kanetsugu proceeded to march over to the two.

"She's right, Mitsuhide. You should never try to separate a pet from their master's side." Aya agreed as she stroked her hand through the girl's hair. Kanetsugu arrived at the table, and grabbed the black-clad girl by the arm and yanked her away from Aya, dragging her back to their own table with little effort. Mitsuhide pouted.

"If I am made to sit away from Lord Kenshin and Lady Aya, then so shall you!" he declared.

"...Killjoy." Mitsubachi huffed, crossing her arms.

No frowned and stood up, pointing over to the next table over. "Why don't we bring up the worst flaw in your little plans, Mitsuhide." she growled, "I recall you saying that _certain undesirables _would not be in attendance this years. For your sake, I hope you weren't lying to me."

"I cannot be held accountable for her presence!" Mitsuhide defended himself.

Aya remained calm. "Foolish girl. Does your heart writhe with disappointment? I would apologize... yet disappointment is all that can be expected from such a pitiful existence." No bared her teeth, and her eyes seethed with anger. "Though, perhaps I should have not attended this year, after all. Truly, the honor of invitation loses its meaning when they will let such lowlifes mingle with the upstanding ranks of the land."

"I will have _both _of you leave if you continue this fighting!" Mitsuhide pledged.

"And _why _is this rule about no mistletoe in the castle on here, anyway?!" Nene asked, "You should be saying that to Lady Aya exclusively! She's the only one who ever brings mistletoe."

"It's a stupid rule, too." Kai stated, glancing at Yukimura as she did so, "_Some_ of us enjoy having old Christmas traditions."

Kunoichi snickered, "Especially when some of us believe a tradition gives them an actual chance with a guy."

"Hey!" Kai hollered.

"We have to _pay _and _repair _any damage we're responsible for done to the castle?!" Ujiyasu yelled, reading over the rules list that was being passed from table to table. "I ain't paying for anything, _least of all _a castle that isn't even mine!"

"If you're so worried about all this happening, why even bother having a party at your castle, Mitsuhide?!" Yoshihiro demanded, "At this point, everyone would be happier spending the next seven days _outside _in the frozen mountains!"

"Will there be pokemari at any point?" Yoshimoto asked, "Because this can't even be considered a party if you won't be having pokemari."

By this point, Mitsuhide realized that he had completely lost control of the situation, so he walked around the crowd of bickering house guests, going towards the table Gracia was seated at. "And you were worried about me ruining this party." Aya giggled as he walked past her, "Oh, dear. You don't need my help; you do a good enough job on your own." As he was passing by Kotaro, the menacing ninja looked like he was in his element, leaning casually on the table and smiling like a maniac. "And this is why Christmas is my favorite holiday." Mitsuhide heard him say. He scowled, and continued towards his daughter. When he got to the other side of the room where Gracia was, he knelt down next to her.

"Gracia, get ready to deploy the failsafe when I give the signal." he whispered to her.

"Okay, Papa!" she said enthusiastically, completely unfazed by the giant argument around them. Mitsuhide nodded, and rose to his feet, looking out over the crowd.

"Everyone, everyone!" Mitsuhide attempted to shout over the noise, "Please, calm down! This is all for the benefit of the festivities! I simply wish to make this as safe and enjoyable of an experience as possible for everyone in attendance."

"You only wish to keep your precious castle from falling apart!" Ujiyasu retorted.

"You've got no right patronizing us like a bunch of children, Mitsuhide!" Hideyoshi argued, shaking his fist at the man. "We can take care of ourselves, without your ridiculous rules!"

"All you've done is proven how little you trust us to enact the simplest concepts of common decency!" Ieyasu spoke up.

"You should be ashamed of yourself, Mitsuhide!" Nene scolded him.

"Everyone, please!" Mitsuhide implored, backing up a bit more as everyone closed in on him. "Allow me to say one thing in my defense!" After a long moment of consideration, the angry mob backed up slightly, eager to hear what Mitsuhide could possibly say to justify his lack of faith in them. Mitsuhide sighed if relief, "Thank you. Now if you will all kindly pay attention... Gracia will use the failsafe." Before anyone could process what was happening, Gracia jumped up and pointed to everyone in the room.

"Okay! Munna, use hypnosis on everybody!" she called out. Suddenly, her Munna popped out from behind her, and sent a wave of psychic energy throughout the room that continually bounced off the walls until everyone from the Warlords to their Pokemon had been put into a deep sleep. The only two who remained awake was Mitsuhide, who had covered his eyes and ears to block the hypnotic waves, and Gracia, who was not affected by the attacks of her own Pokemon. When it was safe to look again, Mitsuhide opened his eyes and looked around, sighing in relief when he saw that everyone that had previously been at his and each other's throats was now fast asleep.

"Well, I would have preferred if the failsafe had been an unnecessary precaution, but at least it's effective." he mused.

"Did I do a good job, papa?" Gracia asked, skipping over to him with Munna floating beside her. Mitsuhide nodded and patted his daughter on the head.

"More than you know." he said through a smile. She giggled.

"That's good. It's too bad I can't go ice skating with Ran now, though." she said, looking in the direction of the sleeping feminine boy with a pout.

"But now it is something to look forward to for tomorrow." Mitsuhide explained to her, causing her to brighten.

"Hey, that's right!" she agreed. "Yeah, now I can't wait for tomorrow!"

"Good, then you should have no trouble going to bed after we eat dinner." Mitsuhide smiled.

"Aww!" Gracia whined, "But I'm not even tired!"

"You will be after you help me carry the other Warlords back to their rooms." he said, "We may even be too tired to eat dinner." After saying this, Mitsuhide called for several warriors to report to the banquet hall to help he and Gracia assist the other Warlords back to their rooms. The warriors he called had fighting and psychic-type Pokemon with them to help with the chore. The fighting-types carried the sleeping humans and Pokemon with ease, while the psychic-types used confusion to hover them off the ground. When everyone had been put in their correct rooms, Mitsuhide had Gracia's Munna go around to each Warlord and their Pokemon, projecting false memories of what had transpired over the last two hours into their dreams. Just before he left the guest wing, he went into Aya's and Mitsubachi's rooms, and searched through the bags they had brought with them. There was no mistletoe to be found on either woman, though Mitsubachi did have quite a few strange knickknacks that she had brought with her, which appeared to be Christmas favors from her home kingdom. Hopefully whatever they were wouldn't be as lethal as Aya's usual batch of mistletoe. He pondered checking Lord Kenshin and Kanetsugu's rooms as well, but decided against it. He doubted Aya would go to such extreme lengths to conceal it from him, even if she was lying. If it wasn't in her room, or with her female student, then there wasn't any to be had at the moment. However, That didn't mean she couldn't get some by a different means later. He'd have to keep a close eye on the woman for the next few days.

But right now, he was exhausted, and he needed to sleep more than anything. He didn't even feel like eating anymore, so he decided to just go to bed. Gracia had left the 'cleanup' early to eat dinner, so she might already be in bed. He walked past Gracia's room and quickly peeked inside to see if his daughter had gone to bed. She was fast asleep under the covers, with her Pokemon snuggled up beside her. So he walked to his chambers, and allowed himself a short moment of escape before the chaos would truly begin the next day.

**~The Next Morning...~**

The castle was alive and active, with almost everyone gathered in the banquet hall for breakfast together. For the most part, people seemed to be in a good, friendly mood, or at least behaved as they normally would. As Mitsuhide entered and walked around, it seemed that no one remembered the events of last night, and everyone was saying good morning to him as he passed by. No one threatened to kill him at any point, so it appeared that phase II of the failsafe could be considered a success. Having never eaten dinner last night, everyone was hungry, and whole platters of food were consumed in a matter of minutes.

"Hideyoshi, slow down!" Nene scolded as the Infernape-like Warlord scarfed down a third plateful. "You would think you didn't eat that big meal last night. You had two plates then, too. You're gonna get as big as a Snorlax if you keep Tepigging out!"

Hideyoshi frowned. "Can I help it if I'm hungry?" he asked her, "Don't worry, I'll work it all off later."

"You're darn right you will!" Nene agreed, "I'm gonna see to that myself, mister! I'll have Lady Ginchiyo make you run laps the second you put those chopsticks down!"

"Why are you picking on me?" He complained, "You're always saying that I need to bulk up!"

"Good morning, everyone." Ryo said as he approached his table with a plate of food. Everyone smiled when he came over.

"Good morning, Lord Ryo." "Hi, Ryo." "Hey, Ryo." the girls said as he took his seat.

""How's everyone doing?" he asked.

"I feel great!" Kunoichi said as she stretched her arms.

"Yeah, me too." Kai said, "I actually got a really good sleep last night. Usually I have such a hard time sleeping when I'm not in Cragspur."

"I slept well myself." Oichi said.

"It must have been the food." Ryoko decided, "Actually, come to think of it, didn't we have the same food for dinner last night?" she asked, looking down at her plate. The others followed her and looked at their own plates, realizing it was the same as last night.

"Hey yeah, it is the same!" Kai stated.

"Wow, that's some major déjà vu." Kunoichi replied, putting her hand on her head.

"Sorry, but there was a lot of leftovers from last night." Mitsuhide explained as he walked past their table. Ryo noticed that he looked rather pale. "I hope it's not a problem."

"No, it's fine." Ryoko confirmed before anyone could think to say otherwise. "There's nothing like having a good meal twice!"

"I don't remember much of last night anyway." Kunoichi thought out loud as she took another bite of meat. "At least I can remember what the food tasted like now."

Mitsuhide chuckled uncomfortably and continued walking over to his table. Ryo was the only one to notice his strange behavior, but didn't question it in excess as he was too hungry to pay attention to anything but breakfast. As Mitsuhide approached his table, he noticed that someone was already in his seat. Mitsubachi looked up from her drink and smiled at the Nixtorm Warlord.

"Mitsubachi?" he wondered.

"Don't worry." she replied, "I was only keeping your seat warm for you." she jumped over to the seat next to his before gesturing for him to sit down. Although he was uncertain of the girl's intentions, he slowly sat down and placed his food on the table, keeping his eyes locked on the younger girl. Just as the other night, he noticed that her Meowth had once again taken up residence on her head, gazing at him with mischievous eyes to match his Warlord's.

"Uh... thank you?" he said uncertainly. She nodded. "Not at all."

"I would have thought that you would be attempting to sit with Lady Aya." Mitsuhide noted, staring over to the opposite table and seeing that the white clad woman was indeed present, speaking with her brother and Shingen at the moment. Mitsubachi shook her head.

"There wouldn't be any sport to it. Abra-boy's still up in his room. It wouldn't be any fun if I couldn't get under his skin a little."

_Ah, so that was it. _Mitsuhide thought, _She wanted Kanetsugu to get jealous of her being close to Lady Aya. _

"I wish you wouldn't." he told her, "I'm trying to prevent any avoidable incidents from happening."

Mitsubachi nodded. "Well, you're doing an excellent job of it so far. The mass hypnosis certainly worked to your advantage last night."

Mitsuhide's eyes widened, and he stood up, gazing at the girl in anxious terror. "H-how...?!" he asked in a low voice, so as not to have others hear what they were saying. He was lucky enough that at the moment, only Hideyoshi and Nene were sitting at the table as well, and they were too focused on squabbling with each other to overhear the conversation. Her face turned serious.

"Relax, I don't intend to say anything. Being a guest and all, I don't want to cause any trouble." she assured him. Exhaling the breath he had been holding in, Mitsuhide dropped back into his seat. Looking around to make sure there was no one that might overhear their discussion, he leaned towards her and spoke quietly.

"I had Munna put false memories into everyone's dreams after they were hypnotized. Why didn't it work on you?" he asked.

"It's my Warrior Ability. Part of it, anyway." Mitsubachi explained, "Storyteller. I can't be affected by things like illusions, and that includes the illusion dreams that Munna can create. I always need to have a clear mind, after all." she smiled. "It's a rare Ability, though. I doubt any of the other Warlords have anything even remotely similar to it. I'm one of a kind!"

"Fortunately enough." Mitsuhide replied, "Is there a reason why you are telling me this?"

"Only because I think you need a little bit of wise advice." she said, taking another sip of her green tea. "I heard from No yesterday that you've had trouble with this party in the past. The castle's been destroyed more than once, and a lot of fights have broken out for different reasons. It deters you from enjoying the holiday yourself, because as the host, you're completely responsible for cleaning up the messes. Am I pretty on the nose, here?" she asked. Mitsuhide nodded.

"Perfectly."

"...My cousin Aika, the one I'm still on speaking terms with, she's a perfectionist. She will make herself sick worrying about everything from the upkeep of her family's castle to the wellbeing of my brother and I. The reason she does it is because she's worried that if she doesn't do her best, she'll end up disappointing someone. The problem is that when you set your expectations so high, they're bound to fall apart on you." she smiled again, "Trust me; I think the best thing you can do for everyone is to not get overworked so easily. Things have a way of working themselves out, I've found. Give a little more leeway, and I don't think things will be as bad as you're expecting them to be. You've got to admit, you did dig your own grave yesterday. You even picked out the plot of dirt and the spade to do it with!"

"I realize that in hindsight." Mitsuhide groaned as she giggled. "I didn't expect everyone to take it so negatively."

"We have a saying back home: 'the best laid plans of 'mon and men often go awry.' If things are meant to fall apart, then there's nothing that you can do to change it. And usually, the harder you try, the more you're setting yourself up for disappointment when things _do _blow up in your face. At least if you expect nothing, you can't be disappointed."

"Forgive me for saying so, but that's rather easy for you to say." Mitsuhide snapped back, "I have an entire castle to lose."

"And if you let that rule every action you make, then you're preventing yourself from being happy." Mitsubachi said. "If it makes you feel better, I'll keep an eye out for any rowdies there might be and keep them from causing trouble."

Mitsuhide shook his head. "N-no, I couldn't ask you to do that! You are a guest here, Mitsubachi, and-!"

"Don't worry; it'd be fun for me! My favorite hobby outside of storytelling is outsmarting people. And if it's for a good cause, all the more sweeter."

Mitsuhide looked skeptical. "Right. And tell me, what would you do should Lady Aya be the cause of such trouble?"

Mitsubachi laughed. "What, you think I've never pranked Aya before?" she asked. Mitsuhide's eyes widened. "Yeah; I tease everyone I love. 'Indiscriminate love', Lady Aya would say. You said something about mistletoe and kissing yesterday, right?" He nodded. "That's an easy fix. If that happens, tell me and I can stop it in a Pikachu's heartbeat!"

"Well..."

"Trust me."

Before their conversation could continue further, Motochika arrived and stood behind Mitsubachi. "I see you've decided to swim against the current of Mitsuhide's rules, my lady." the musician stated. Mitsubachi arched her head and looked up at him, grinning like the Meowth that was her partner.

"Don't worry; I was only keeping your seat warm for you." she replied, standing with her tea and walking around the table. "I've got a date right now to keep, but we should do a song or two later, Lord Motochika. Perhaps you could teach me some Christmas songs from Ransei."

Motochika chuckled, "I look forward to it, Vespiquen." he said.

She frowned. "Don't call me that." she demanded. He only snickered again, so she rolled her eyes and turned to walk towards Aya. When she arrived at the table, the veterans stopped their discussion to welcome her over, and she sat down next to Aya, leaning against the woman.

"Her spiritual essence is water." Motochika commented, "And like water, she lets the tides carry her without destination or purpose. She creates from whatever the waves bring to her. You could learn from that, Mitsuhide."

They watched as Kanetsugu came in, noticing Mitsubachi snuggled up to his teacher. He ran over, and the two broke into an argument with each other, while Aya looked on in amusement.

Mitsuhide sighed. "I'd prefer if she were as the earth: grounded."

**~Later that day...~**

"Come on, guys! It's this way!" Gracia shouted as she ran outside the castle. Following her was Ranmaru, Mitsunari, Kiyomasa and Masanori. They were all dressed for the cold weather, and the four boys were all curious as to what the girl was dragging them out there for. On Gracia's shoulder was her Gothita, who had a little scarf wrapped around her neck, and soaring behind Ranmaru was Dragonair. Munna had stayed back in the castle in the event that Mitsuhide would need it for another failsafe.

"If you ask us to come out in the cold, the least you could do is offer some insight as to what you wish to accomplish." Mitsunari grumbled.

"I don't know what any of those words mean." Gracia stated, "But you're gonna _love _this!"

"Gracia, did you remember to ask your father if it was alright to leave the castle?" Ranmaru asked, remembering Gracia's history of running off without telling Lord Mitsuhide where she was going.

"Don't worry, Ran! I told papa we were going out."

"Ok. So where are we going, then?" Masanori asked.

"Hold on. Uh..." Gracia said, running ahead a bit and looking around. When she got to the top of a hill, her eyes lit up and she pointed off a ways ahead of them.

"There! Lookie, lookie!" she cried, jumping off the ground a bit. The four boys came over to her and looked in the direction she was pointing. At the bottom of the hill they were on was a pond that had been completely frozen over in the cold. Around the body of frozen water there were a large group of Spheal and their evolved forms, Sealeo and Walrein. Kiyomasa and Masanori gazed at the pond with some interest, never having seen a body of water completely frozen over before. Mitsunari, however, looked indifferent, and Ranmaru slumped his shoulders a bit.

"Geez. Tell me you didn't drag us all out here just to see a giant ice block in the ground." Mitsunari scoffed, crossing his arms.

Ranmaru sighed, "The ice skating pond. I should have known." he muttered.

"Look at all those Pokemon down there." Kiyomasa stated in wonder.

"Well, come on, guys. Let's go!" Gracia called before running down the hill towards the pond. Kiyomasa noticed her take off and gasped when he noticed her getting close to the Pokemon.

"Hey, uh..."

"Gracia." Ranmaru reminded him.

"Yeah, Gracia!" Kiyomasa called, "Don't get too close to them! Wild Pokemon don't like it when you disturb their nests!"

"Relax!" Gracia answered back. "All of these Sealeo and Walrein are friendly! They know me!" To illustrate her point, she ran over to a nearby Walrein and climbed up onto its back. Rather than panic and try to thrash her off, the Walrein smiled underneath its tusks and slid over to the ice, and began to give Gracia a ride around the frozen pond.

"Whee!" she cried as she held on, enjoying the ride. From on the hill, the boys looked on in amazement at the tameness of the giant ice-types. "See? They're nice! So come down and say hi!"

Kiyomasa and Masanori exchanged glances, before they both smiled and turned back to run down the hillside.

"Yeah, that looks fun!" Masanori shouted, pumping a fist in the air.

"I've never seen a family of Spheal up close before!" Kiyomasa said.

Ranmaru sighed, before carefully walking down the small slope as well. "How do I always let her drag me into these things?" he wondered as he and Dragonair descended to the bottom. Mitsunari watched as the others joined Gracia at the foot of the ice, and the Pokemon gathered around them. He'd rather not go down... but it would be a waste if he chose to come out all this way and do nothing. So, he rolled his eyes to the air and trekked down as well, joining his group by the Spheal. As he did, he heard Gracia listing off names as she pointed to a small group of the Shpeal that were huddled together.

"...and these last four are called Chihi, Kota, Nimi, and Willis."

"...Willis?" Kiyomasa questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"So now that you've made us come all this way, just what do you plan on us doing?" Mitsunari asked.

"We're going to go ice skating!" Gracia said.

"Ice skating?!" Ranmaru exclaimed nervously, taking a step back.

"You brought us here to skate?" Mitsunari wondered in annoyance.

"Yup. Good idea, huh?"

"It sounds like fun." Kiyomasa agreed.

"Hmph. What could possibly be enjoyable about gliding in silly little circles and hoping you don't lose your footing and fall like a moron?" Mitsunari queried.

"Now here's what you need to do. The trick is balance." Gracia began to explain, "When you switch legs, you need to carry your weight onto that leg. You start off slow, then build up speed once you've been at it for awhile, or you'll slip all over the place. When you get the hang of it, I can teach you guys neat tricks."

"Don't be dumb." Mitsunari huffed. "Any fool with two feet can skate. It does not take a genius to figure it out." Ranmaru's cheeks flushed and he looked away so no one would notice.

"So who wants to get in there first?" Gracia asked. Ranmaru took a few steps back.

"I'm not participating in your juvenile amusements." Mitsunari declared, before turning around and walking back the way he had come.

"Hey! Where are you going, fool?" Kiyomasa called to him.

"Back to the castle where it's warm and comfortable. I have better things to do than humor some little girl."

"How old are you, anyway, Gracia?" Kiyomasa asked as he turned to the bright-eyed girl.

"I'm ten years old." she answered.

Kiyomasa looked back to Mitsunari. "She's two years older than you, shrimp!"

Mitsunari didn't reply, and kept on walking. Masanori crossed his arms and frowned just as the short boy left their sight. "Man, I don't like that big-headed, smart-mouthed..."

"Ah, just let him do what he wants." Kiyomasa said, "I'd bet you he'll get lost and come back here in no time."

"Good point." Masanori agreed, smirking at the thought.

"In the meantime..." Kiyomasa said, before turning and running towards the pond. "Last one on the ice is an ugly Venipede!"

"Hey, no fair!" Masanori protested before running after the white-haired boy.

"Haha, what's wrong... Venipede!"

"_You're _the Venipede... Venipede!" Masanori spat. Suddenly Gracia ran past him, and he did a double take. "Hey!"

"Bye, Venipede!" she waved before her feet hit the ice and she went gliding across the surface. Kiyomasa was about to join her when Masanori plunged forward and crashed into him, causing the two to go tumbling across the ice. Gracia and Gothita slid over to them, overlooking the two sprawled flat on the ice.

"You... idiot." Kiyomasa groaned. Gracia started laughing at them for a few seconds before helping them both get to their feet. Meanwhile, Ranmaru remained on the snow, staring down at the ice in front of his feet. Dragonair was with him, looking curious at the boy. Building up a bit of courage, he put one foot onto the ice. Immediately, the friction caught him by surprise, and he retreated his leg from the slippery surface, backing up farther onto land. On the ice, Gracia had managed to get the other two situated again, and they were all standing in a circle.

"Let's play 'chasing blind'!" Gracia suggested.

"What; on the ice?" Masanori asked.

"Sure; it's not so bad. How about this as an extra rule: Whoever's It can have Gothita on their shoulders, and she can turn you around whenever you're about to go off the ice. That way, you'll stay on the pond and not go wandering off anywhere."

"Okay; that sounds like a good idea." Kiyomasa agreed.

"So who's It first?" Masanori asked.

"I think the ugly Venipede should go first." Kiyomasa said with a smirk. Gracia giggled and agreed.

"Yeah!" Masanori said, "The ugly Venipede shou-!" Before he could finish, Gothita had teleported onto his shoulder. He looked between the other two who snickering at him, and his face turned red. "Hey!"

Kiyomasa smirked. "You _were_ the last one on the ice." he noted before gliding away. "Now be a good little Venipede and close your eyes and count to ten."

Masanori groaned in annoyance, but conceded and closed his eyes shut. "Okay, fine, but I'm coming after _you_, Kiyomasa! _Then _we'll see who the real Venipede is!"

"Oh, boy. I can't wait."

Once Masanori began to count, Kiyomasa bolted over to the other side of the pond, and Gracia, being sneaky, circled so that she was a few feet behind Masanori. Unable to help herself, she began laughing, and tried to cover it up with her gloved hands. Masanori, upon finishing counting, turned his head towards the laughter, but didn't move.

"I can hear you, Gracia." He said, forcing her to break out in giggles again, "But where's Kiyomasa?"

"I'm over here, you idiot!" Kiyomasa called, "Why dontcha come and get me?"

"You're gonna wish you hadn't said that!" Masanori threatened before running over to where Kiyomasa's voice was heard. Before he could get far, however, he slipped and fell forward.

"Ow..."

"Huh, I guess Venipedes are poor skaters."

"Hey!"

Masanori tried to get up, but kept sliding on the ice. Eventually, he gave up and just starting fumbling towards Kiyomasa on his hands and knees. Kiyomasa continued to taunt his friend, and when he got close enough, moved just out of his reach. When he got some space between them, he would go over to the foot of the pond and grab at the snow, balling it up in his hands and throwing the ammunition towards Masanori, minding to aim away from Gothita, who was also snickering at her current partner's position. From the other side of the pond, Gracia was laughing at Kiyomasa making a fool of Masanori. She turned to look at Ranmaru, and noticed that he was still standing on the snow. Wondering why he wasn't skating as well, she went over to him. His shoulders went stiff as she came over, but Gracia didn't notice it.

"What's up, Ran?" she asked, "Don't you wanna skate?"

"Uh, I... uh... don't really feel like it right now, Gracia." he said, turning away from the girl's interested gaze.

"Hm?" she asked, leaning closer to examine his face. He glanced over as she did this, before blushing and turning back to stare at the sky.

"Don't you wanna play with us?" she asked again.

"I... sure, just... I really don't wanna..."

"Oh, I forgot!" Gracia exclaimed, standing up straight again and smiling. "You don't know how to skate, do you?"

Ranmaru turned back to her, his cheeks turning bright red. "Do you have to say it so loud?!" he asked. He wasn't embarrassed about the others knowing; it was just embarrassing to be reminded of it.

"Hey, you should of said something if you didn't know how to skate." Gracia said offhandedly. Ranmaru frowned at her.

"I've told you before that I can't skate!" He groaned, slapping his hand to his forehead in disbelief. "I told you while I was in Nixtorm a few weeks ago when you wanted to take me here. Did you forget already?"

"I think I did." Gracia admitted plainly. Ranmaru bowed his head.

"Geez... you have such a short attention span..."

"Ooh, look! I think there's something under the snow!" Gracia suddenly shouted, pointing at some snow just in front of her before crouching down and scooping some snow out of the way. "...Oh, no, it's just a rock." she said as she picked it up and examined it. "But it is shiny! Maybe it's one of those evolution stones! Hey, Ranmaru, do you think this might be an evolution stone?" she asked, holding the stone up to him. Ranmaru sighed.

"Gracia!" he exclaimed, "I was just telling you that I can't skate! You can't just-!"

"Oh, then I should teach you! Come on!" she stated, getting to her feet and grabbing his hands before pulling him onto the ice. "You too, Dragonair! Let's help Ranmaru together!" Dragonair nodded and slid onto the surface of the pond, not seeming to mind the friction at all. Ranmaru, on the other hand, instantly panicked upon feeling a stable surface disappear from under his feet, and wrapped his arms around Gracia as a means of support. Gracia managed to balance both of them, but she looked down at her best friend with exasperation.

"Well, you're not gonna learn that way." she noted.

"Wh-why did you take us to the middle of the ice?!" Ranmaru squeaked, looking around for anything to cling to other than Gracia.

"To practice."

"We should practice by the snow, in case I fall." Ranmaru protested.

"You're not gonna fall! Trust me." Gracia said, "Now, the first thing you need to do is to let go of me..." she began, placing her hands on his arms and slowly pushing him away from her. He flinched and tried to bring himself back to hugging her, but she wouldn't let him. The farther away she pushed him, the more he felt himself losing balance. When she had gotten him at arm's length to her, his legs were trembling. They finally gave out the second her hands left him, and he fell down. But rather than hit the ice, he felt Dragonair wrap itself around him in a protective embrace, and position him back on his legs. Gracia smiled.

"You see? Dragonair will keep you from falling, and I'll be here to coach you, so you don't need to worry about a thing."

Ranmaru sighed in relief, and leaned on Dragonair to keep himself from sliding again.

"Now, once you get your balance, we can start up again. Ok?"

"Do we have to?" he asked, but did as he was told anyway. Gracia wasn't the kind to listen to reason, especially if she thought something was worthwhile. As her friend, anything that revolved around him was automatically a worthwhile endeavor. He spent a long time righting himself, but when he finally got it, he let go of Dragonair, and stood in place without twitching a muscle. Dragonair unwound itself from him, and slithered next to Gracia. The second his Pokemon left, Ranmaru was reduced to wobbling and slipping once again. Gracia caught his arm in time, and helped him balance with her support.

"Thank you." he gasped.

"You can't panic, otherwise you will fall." she instructed, "So relax a little, and we can move on to the next part."

"Ok... I, uh, think I'm getting calm." he said uncertainly. It might have just been because Gracia was holding his hands at the moment, though.

"Alright, then here's what we do next. Keep holding my hands, and I'll start to move. Watch my feet, and move as I move." Gracia moved one step back with her right foot. Ranmaru paused uncertainly, looking up at Gracia. But she smiled reassuringly at him and uttered a short, "You can do it." Unable to disagree with her, he slowly inched his foot forward at a Munchlax's pace. When he didn't fall, he breathed out another sigh of relief. The peace was short-lived, however, and Gracia moved her other foot the second he was balanced. So he repeated what he did with his other foot. And when he got his other foot forward, she moved back another step. Then again, and again, and again. When he began to move a bit faster, she moved faster as well, trying to get him to pick up speed. He quickly figured this out, and tried to slow down a bit, but he was going too fast to stop his current pace. Realizing this, he panicked again, and began losing his footing. Finally, he fell forward, and landed on top of Gracia, forcing her to tumble down as well. Fortunately, Dragonair was there to catch them both, so neither one hit the ice hard. Gracia giggled as she collected herself.

"Well... look on the bright side. You were doing pretty good up until the whole 'freak out and crash into me' part." she mentioned enthusiastically. Ranmaru groaned.

"Can we be done now?" he aksed, climbing off of Gracia so she could stand up.

"Nope!" she replied, "You still need to learn to stay up without my help. Next Dragonair is going to be your partner."

"Dragonair?" he inquired, sharing a curious look with his partner.

"Yeah. You may be bad at this." she stated, causing him to turn bright red again, "But Dragonair is pretty good at sliding on the ice. Seeing as you've already got a tight grip on her, why not hang onto her neck?" Ranmaru nodded and placed his hands gently on Dragonair's neck. "Good; now you have to put one leg over her like you're about to go flying." He looked nervous at this request, yet still made an effort to lift his foot. It barely made it an inch off the ground. "Here, let me help you with that." Gracia stated impatiently as she slid over to Dragonair's other side. she reached around and grabbed Ranmaru's leg, causing him to scream in surprise.

"Gracia, don't! I'm gonna fall! I'm gonna fall! I'm gonna-!"

"There we go!" Gracia exclaimed. Ranmaru stopped freaking out and looked over at Gracia, realizing that both his legs were firmly on the ground, and his feet were on either side of Dragonair. "Now, here's how this'll happen: Dragonair will be pulling you around the ice slowly. When she turns left, lift up your right leg. If she turns right, lift your left leg. You don't have to take your foot completely off the ice, but you'll need to distribute your weight so you can turn. You can lean on her if you need to, but the idea will be to get you to eventually do it without her help. Got it?"

"Yeah... sure." He agreed, "Just as long as we do this slow..."

"Great, then let's get started, Dragonair! Just drag him around the pond in circles."

"Wait! I-I'm not ready yeAAAAAAHHH!" he screamed again when Dragonair took off.

"Why are you screaming?" Gracia asked, "You're not going fast at all."

Ranmaru opened one eye, then both, and realized that he and Dragonair had barely gone two feet from where they had started. He flushed again at how scared he kept becoming. Gracia glided next to them, skating circles around the two partners.

"You're leaning on Dragonair, Ran." Gracia remarked, "You need to balance yourself on your own two feet."

"Give me a break, would you?!" he cried, "I... I'm still getting used to it." When Dragonair turned left, he raised his right foot. He noticed that as he did, Gracia did not do this and put one foot in front of the other just as she was doing before.

He questioned her on this, "I thought you said I needed to raise my right foot to turn left. Why didn't you do that just now?"

"You don't need to do that to turn." she explained, "But you do need to practice lifting your feet, otherwise you won't be able to turn at all. So for now, I'm just having you raise one foot at a time when you turn."

"Oh, come on!" Ranmaru shouted.

They continued doing their loops for another fifteen minutes, and Ranmaru was beginning to build up some confidence with his balance and footing, even though being on ice was still a bit unnerving to him. Interestingly, while his lesson with Gracia was going on, Masanori was still trying to chase Kiyomasa all over the pond, and it didn't look like he would be giving up soon. Nor did Kiyomasa, who was having too much fun tormenting the dark-haired boy. Gothita, however, was looking bored by the two, and showed no interest whenever she had to turn Masanori around.

"Alright, you're doing really good now, Ran!" Gracia commented, bringing him back to what they were doing. "Now we need to go a little bit faster."

"What?! No, we don't!"

"Yes we do!"

"_No we don't_!"

"Dragonair, pick up speed!"

Once again, Ranmaru was reduced to holding on for dear life as his Pokemon picked up speed. It wasn't by much, but it still placed him out of his comfort zone from the last fifteen minutes.

"I'll slow down if you let go of Dragonair!" Gracia said.

"Are you insane?! I can't let go!"

"Just for one second!"

"...One?"

"Yes."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Still reluctant, but desperate to stop, Ranmaru inched his fingers down Dragonair's body, until finally letting go. He counted slowly to one, making sure Gracia couldn't say his hands weren't off long enough, but quickly placed them back on when the second had expired. He may have even been freeskating for two seconds, but he didn't care! He had his crutch back, and Dragonair was slowing down.

"Good job, Ranmaru!" Gracia praised, coming closer to him. He breathed in and out heavily, his heart beating a mile a minute.

"Am I done _now?!_" He asked, or rather pleaded, with her. She shook her head.

"I think you're good with your balance and footing now, but now you have to be comfortable with one last thing."

"...Wh-what?"

"Speed."

"Not gonna happen!" he declared. "There is no way that..!"

"If you don't build up speed, then you're just walking on ice."

"That's what skating _is._"

"No; skating is _gliding _on ice, not just shuffling your feet one after another." she explained, "Like how Kiyomasa is doing it right now." she pointed over to the other two boys, "And Masanori keeps tumbling over his feet because he has the _opposite _problem that you do. If you build up speed, then you'll really be skating. You don't have to go very fast, you just need to learn how to get yourself moving. Normally, to move forward, you'd have to lean forward, and push yourself away with one foot or the other. But since you still won't do that on your own, I'll have Dragonair help you again, while I skate next to you."

"Oh... ok. But can we _please _stop after we do this?" he asked.

"Sure. That way, I can teach you lots of other stuff later!" she said happily.

"Well... that's one way of thinking of it." he conceded, "And can I say when I'm ready?"

"Ok. Whenever you're ready to go, Dragonair will take off." Gracia agreed, "So while you get ready, hold onto Dragonair's tail."

"Wh-why its tail?!" he asked nervously.

"So Dragonair can go as fast as possible!"

"I don't want it to go as fast as possible!" he cried.

"If you want to learn to cope with speed, then the best thing to do is to go as fast as possible. That way, every other time after will feel slow by comparison."

"I don't think that's how it works, Gracia!" he corrected, grabbing Dragonair's tail gently. "I should only go as fast as possible when I'm ready to..."

"You're ready?" she asked excitedly. Ranmaru's eyes widened with fright.

"No, no! That wasn't what I sai-!"

"You heard him, Dragonair! Let's go!" And before Ranmaru could say any more, Dragonair and Gracia took off down the ice. He screamed in terror and held onto Dragonair's tail, while his Pokemon went off the ice completely and began to fly in the air instead. This made them go even faster, and caused it's partner further fright. By some miracle, his feet still managed to stay flat on the surface of the ice, and he kept his balance with only minor instances of slipping being seen. After a minute of picking up speed herself, Gracia managed to catch up to the two and skate alongside Ranmaru.

"Having fun yet?" she asked.

"_MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOOOOOP!_" he pleaded.

"What? I can't understand what you're saying!" she replied, looking confused.

"_HOW DO I STOP?!_" he repeated.

"How do you 'hop'?" she asked, "I think we should save that for another lesson!"

"_STOP! __**ST-O-OP!**_" he yelled again.

"Did you say 'stop'?" she asked.

"_YES!_" he snapped back.

"Uh, well, usually I stop by either falling over or going onto the snow." she stated.

"_YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO STOP?!_" he exclaimed.

"Is that bad?" she asked, while Ranmaru went back to just screaming for his life.

While the two weren't paying attention to where they were going, Kiyomasa and Masanori were still at their two-player game. Kiyomasa stopped, waiting for Masanori to get to him, when he became distracted by the incoming group of kids and a dragon-type Pokemon. His eyes widened, and he tried to move out of the way of the impending crash, but suddenly something grabbed at his coat sleeve, and he turned to see Masanori behind him, smiling victoriously as he opened his eyes.

"Ha! I got you! _Now _who's the idiot?!" he asked.

"You _fool_!" Kiyomasa said, just as they were hit by their other friends and the force sent all of them flying over the ice and back onto the snow. Several of the surrounding Pokemon ran out of the way just as the group was thrust into a giant pile of fluffy snow. And when the whole thing cleared up, several small body parts could be seen under the mound of snow.

Gracia was the first to pull herself fully out, in spite of being the only one to have gone completely into the giant snow pile.

"That was super fun!" She cried as she popped out, looking around for the three boys. she noticed Kiyomasa's right arm and both his legs sticking out from the snow, The upper half of Masanori was buried with his legs struggling to break the rest of him free, And Ranmaru's head and both his arms was out, one hand still feebly holding on to his Pokemon as she tried to pull him out of the snow. Gothita was right next to her partner, with the ribbons on top of her head sticking out. She managed to teleport herself out of the snow and back onto Gracia's shoulder, before shaking some of the wet stuff off of her.

"So...can we go home now?" Ranmaru asked.

After the group all got themselves out of the snow and dusted off, they decided to go back to the castle and do something less... well, dangerous for a while. On the way back, they met up with Mitsunari, who was heading in their direction rather than that of the castle.

"I...just wanted to see how you fools were doing." Mitsunari said while Kiyomasa and Masanori laughed at him.

"You got lost, didn't you." Kiyomasa retorted.

"Don't be absurd! _I _never get lost!" Mitsunari said, looking away from his friends as they continued to snicker at him. Once they made it back to the castle, they saw two people leaving from the gates, both arguing with each other. They were accompanied by a Kadabra and a Meowth.

"I don't see why she asked you! As her former student and current retainer for Lord Kenshin and Lady Aya alike, clearly I am more suited to carry out their wishes than you!" Kanetsugu declared with his usual zeal. Mitsubachi, for her part, just rolled her eyes.

"I asked if you wanted to come with me." she replied, "Why do you always take things so personally?"

"Because _I _am Lady Aya's most talented apprentice! I shall not be outdone by such a lowly, honorless cretin."

"You know, it's cute how you think big, fancy words cite your superiority to me." she stated with a smirk, "I suppose if you really were better than me, you could tell me why Lady Aya asked me to go run errands for her over you?"

"I-I...I, I...!" That thoroughly silenced the young man, and he turned his head, signaling that the discussion was, for the moment, over. "Shut up."

Mitsubachi only giggled in good humor, and turned when she noticed the kids coming up the hill. Gracia noticed the two first, and ran over to the pair excitedly.

"Hi, Mitsubachi!" she greeted, "Where ya going?"

"Hi, Gracia." Mitsubachi replied, "Kanetsugu and I are going to do some shopping for Lady Aya. She needed me to pick up a few bottles of eggnog, some peppermint, and a couple dozen _Viscum album_ plants."

Gracia tilted her head. "What's... visco malbun?"

Mitsunari rolled his eyes. "Otherwise known as mistletoe." he said with little interest.

"Oh, ok!" Gracia replied.

"Well, you kids look pretty wet." Mitsubachi noted, "Must've been playing in the snow, huh? You should go in and dry off."

"We're not kids." Mitsunari corrected. Mitsubachi smirked.

"_Sure _you're not, sonny." She said, ruffling the short boy's hair. "Just like Abra-boy's hat isn't silly."

"My hat is _not _silly!" Kanetsugu barked at her, causing four of the five kids to laugh.

"Well, we should get going before any snow might start to fall." Mitsubachi said, "Hey, once you all dry off, go to the dining hall. Lady Nene made cookies, and there's enough for everyone to have two each!"

"Yay! Cookies!" Gracia yelled before running towards the opened castle doors, dragging Ranmaru with her. Kiyomasa and Masanori also ran away looking excited, while Mitsunari just huffed and walked in the same direction.

"I'm not eating anything that crazy old lady makes." he mumbled as he left.

Mitsubachi sighed dreamily and gazed sweetly after the boy, "Aw, they're so darling at that age, aren't they?" she said with evident sarcasm. Kanetsugu rolled his eyes.

"They're not much better at your age, it seems." he retorted.

"Believe me, I know." she agreed, "But you're not much older than me, so you don't have much room to make accusations yourself. Well, why don't we get going, Mr. Hat!"

"Stop making fun of my hat!"

* * *

So, there's the ice skating scene for you, SoraKaze. Sorry if it's not very shippy, but there's a reason that the 'Humor' genre is placed before the 'Romance' genre in this particular fic, so I hope that it was just a cute read in general!

End-notes: For those who asked, my obsessive-OC, Mitsubachi, will indeed be playing less important of a role as the story progresses. Currently, however, her presence is elemental to a few key scenes in the story that will take place in future chapters, so I'm giving her a bit of emphasis just before she disappears into the shadows for a while. As can be guessed, she will be helping Aya carry out her mistletoe schemes, so just wait and see what happens with that nonsense. Meanwhile, if anyone was interested at a few of the comments Motochika said to her: When he called her 'Vespiquen', that's a reference to the fact that her name, when translated, means 'honey bee'. She has a bug-type phobia, though, so she hates that particular name. Other people in the story have various names for her as well. Aya has quite a few nicknames for her, too, including 'Mitsu-chan' or 'little Mitsu', as well as simply 'dear girl'. Kanetsugu most commonly calls her a witch or demon, and the most popular nickname people give her is 'Tabby', on account of her brown and black striped hair, and her feline-like tendencies. As for Motochika's comment about her being like water, she is a water sign!

As with last chapter here's a list featuring all the shiny new reviews I got last chapter:

**SuClover: **Thanks for filling me in! And sorry about that; I really appreciate the reviews/requests.

**Imperator Justinian: **_New request: _Kenshin, Shingen and Ujiyasu have an eggnog drinking contest.  
Sidenotes: Thanks for the new request. I can already say without a doubt that I'll have a fun time writing that one! I guess I did kinda make everyone OD on weirdness that last chapter, too. Well, at least I had fun writing the insanity. Speaking of writing, about your question on how long it takes me to write each chapter, it's not so much the chapters themselves as the time between them. I'm not an overly ambitious person, and as a result, I get sidetracked quite frequently whenever I try to write anything. I'm currently working on a novel that's taken me almost eight years to write now, and I'm still not committing to that like I should be. Whenever I'm writing and start to get stiff from sitting in the same spot for a while, I get up and move over to one of my other hobbies, usually video games, as with drawing I'm in a similar position as writing, only with a sketchbook instead of my laptop. On average, if I stay committed to finishing a chapter, it only takes me about a day depending on the length, but add in the distractions and my levels of inspiration and ambition, it could take me anywhere between a week to half a year to update a story with a new chapter. Hope that's a good answer. Oh, by the way, I plan to do a little hint of your first request next chapter, so look forward to that!

**Blue Egg: **YukimuraxRyoko request  
Sidenotes: Thanks for the pairing request. I appreciate all the detail you put in to make it exactly what you wanted. I hope you don't mind, however, if I don't follow the request to the letter. I don't really enjoy making pairings so blatantly obvious in stories. Implied pairings give more room for flexibility and further characterization rather than simply thrusting two characters into a relationship like that. I'll still take your request and do what I can to make it a great read for you, but it seems like you put a great deal of thought into that, so I also think you should do a oneshot fic of your own with that story in mind. I think you'd do a better job telling it than whatever I'll come up with for that idea. Please keep reading; I'll get to your request as soon as I can.

**Guest 3: **Have Tadakatsu be Santa's elf  
Sidenotes: I'll do that! Thanks for the request, and please, keep reading.

**Guest 4:** RyoxOichi scene  
Sidenotes: I'm actually rather surprised by all the GraciaxRanmaru requests; I didn't know it was such a popular pairing, at least where Pokémon Conquest is concerned. I've got just the thing for your request, so please keep reading while I work on it!

**SoraKaze: **Kenshin's reaction to Kanetsugu kissing Aya  
Sidenotes: Nothing good can come of it, I will promise you that right now! ;) But I will definitely enjoy writing it when the time comes, so keep reading, and thanks so much for the request!

I'm gonna keep repeating it just so nobody can claim any confusion. This is a request-based story. The more requests I get, the more chapters there will be, the longer the story will continue. ALL requests will be accepted, but only one request per review, if that's alright. Only so I don't get overwhelmed, and everyone has an equal chance of getting their requests completed. Art requests will also be accepted, but will take longer to complete. And try to keep requests in the festive spirit. This IS a Christmas fic, after all.

**REVIEW IF YOU WANT NEW CHAPTER!**


	4. Eleven Empty Bottles

...Ugh. I'm really not liking how long it's taking me to complete these chapters. It probably has a lot to do with the length of each chapter, but at least when I do update, it's not just a measly 1,000 words like some other story chapters I've done. I can at least take comfort in that.

Another thing to take comfort in is the fact that this chapter has three (maybe four, if you** really** look close) requests put into it. Here is the list, just as in the previous chapter:

**Finished:  
**Gracia teaching Ranmaru how to skate (SoraKaze)  
HanbeixRyoko mistletoe scene (SuClover)  
Kenshin, Shingen and Ujiyasu having an eggnog drinking competition (Imperator Justinian)

**Requests to do ASAP:  
**YukimuraxRyoko scene: out shopping together (Blue Egg)  
Explanation of where Nobunaga was throughout most of Conquest (Imperator Justinian)  
Kotaro spreading the chaos (Requested twice by Guest 5 and SoraKaze, respectively)  
RyokoxMitsunari scene: shopping for a present for Ryoko (Blaziken Critic)  
Snowball fight! (Guest 6)

**Requests to Complete Later (Probably in order):  
**GraciaxRanmaru mistletoe scene (Guest 1)  
Mitsuhide's reaction to GraciaxRanmaru mistletoe scene (Guest 2)  
KanetsuguxAya mistletoe scene (requested twice by B323Glaceon the Ice Queen4831 and SoraKaze, respectively)  
Kenshin's reaction to KanetsuguxAya mistletoe scene (SoraKaze)  
Nene having Ieyasu dress up as Santa, and sub sequentially Tadakatsu being his elf (Imperator Justinian and Guest 3, respectively)  
Secret Santas for everyone; Nobunaga, Hanbei and Ryoko asked for specifically so far (Guest 2 and SuClover, respectively)  
RyoxOichi scene (Guest 4)  
These last ones will be completed this way for a reason. You'll see why when we get to that part of the story. :)

Anyway, as can be seen by the list, the requests in this chapter are for the HanbeixRyoko mistletoe scene for **SuClover**, and also Kenshin, Shingen and Ujiyasu's eggnog drinking contest for **Imperator Justinian**. I also put a small hint of your first request into this chapter. The full request will be completed at a later date, mainly because I thought of a great idea for what to do with it, which will be explained in this chapter. So until that currently unspecified later date, I hope that this little trailer of what's to come will amuse you and my other readers. Your requests are proving to be very enjoyable to write up, particularly the drinking contest I completed near the end. At the words 'eggnog drinking contest', I could only assume that you meant the eggnog with alcohol mixed in (silly thing to ask, I know, but I like to be detail-oriented when it comes to my stories), so expect them to be drunk off their asses, and the entire thing to be hilarious (or at least make an effort to be; humor isn't something I typically excel at)! As for you, **SuClover**, I hope you like your requested mistletoe scene. It's a bit short, but it's also silly and sweet, so I think you won't be disappointed in the slightest. And I also intend to revisit that scene at a later date as well, so look forward to more slight HanbeixRyoko in the future.

As warning for this chapter: as stated above, this chapter will have instances of drunk people being weird and stupid. Feel free to skip over some, or all, of this scene if you're not comfortable with the use of alcohol consumption. I know most people will be cool and mature about it, but there's always that one person who has nothing better to do in their life then nag about whatever they can find to nag about, so this warning is here. No Warlords were harmed in the making of this chapter, and all stunts are done by trained professionals. Don't try this, kids at home!

With all that out of the way, everyone please enjoy this chapter. It's makes the time it takes to complete worth every second.

* * *

"...You know, it was truly foolish of me to believe that you could not possibly be any more wretched!" Kanetsugu exclaimed as he and Mitsubachi were returning to Nixtorm castle an hour later. "I merely believed that of all your negative aspects, you were above _stealing!_"

"How many times are you gonna bring this up?" Mitsubachi asked, cuddling her Meowth closer to her while carrying one of their bags. "For the _hopefully_ final time, Kanetsugu, Meowth likes shiny objects. When he sees something he likes, he tries to grab and hoard it away. I can't help it if he likes something that has a price attached to it."

"The fact that you have neglected to train your Pokemon the difference between right and wrong further proves your lack of honor!" Kanetsugu continued.

"You know, the _shopkeeper_ was more forgiving than you!" Mitsubachi stated, "When I returned everything Meowth took, he offered to give me one of the ornaments free of charge after paying for everything else. Back in my kingdom, it's a great honor to have a Meowth go after your belongings. It shows that you have abundance and wealth."

"Only typical that your home kingdom advocates thievery!"

"You can pick on me all you want, Abra-boy, but don't you say anything against my home!" Mitsubachi snapped, "And don't you dare insult my, or any other Meowth!" She cuddled her feline partner again. "They are sweet, loveable creatures."

"Who steal."

"...Your hat."

"Enough with my hat already!" he exclaimed.

They had made it into the castle now, and were brushing off their coats at the front door. Meowth climbed up onto Mitsubachi's shoulder as she set down her bag and began to take off her gloves and overly fluffy earmuffs that looked like Meowth ears. Mitsuhide noticed the two young adults arguing at the door and walked over to them.

"What have you two found to argue about this time?" he wondered, crossing his arms in irritation.

"Nothing that garners your concern, Lord Mitsuhide." Mitsubachi said.

"A thief would say as much!" Kanetsugu declared.

"What?" Mitsuhide asked. Mitsubachi rolled her eyes.

"Meowth made a little bit of trouble in the village, but it's been taken care of already." she assured him, "Abra-boy's just making a mountain out of a Drilbur hill... Not unlike how he made a mountain out of his..."

"If you say 'hat', I swear by the forces of justice and honor...!"

"...principles of honor."

"...go die in a fire." Kanetsugu mumbled, before marching into the castle. Mitsubachi snickered as he left, and Mitsuhide narrowed his eyes at her. She looked up at him and furrowed her brow.

"What?" she asked.

"Please..." Mitsuhide implored.

"I never start. Remember that." she argued.

Mitsuhide sighed, and his eyes directed to the bag by her feet. He turned to glare up at her. "What is in the bag?" he asked.

"Assorted goods." she stated with a shrug. "Which reminds me..." she crouched down, opened up the bag, and began to shuffle through the contents. Mitsuhide looked over her shoulder, trying to decipher what was in the bag. He could only make out several bottles of eggnog, and a small bag of peppermint. When Mitsubachi pulled her hand out of the bag, she was holding up a shiny, golden colored ornament with holly prints painted all over it.

"A small gift for you, well, your Christmas tree, anyway." she explained, "The shopkeeper let me have it for free after I returned all the stuff Meowth tried to take. A word of advice: keep it low to the ground. We've already proven that a certain kitty is smitten with it, so if he tries to steal it again, he won't bring down the whole tree in the process."

"Uh... thank you, Mitsubachi." he said as he accepted the ornament.

"No problem."

Aya walked by, then, and noticed the two by the door. She walked over to the two, and crouched down to pick up the bag. "I see you've come back from running my errands, my dear." she stated, wrapping an arm around Mitsubachi's shoulders. The girl purred, and leaned into the other woman.

"Always a pleasure to serve you, My Lady!" Mitsubachi stated giddily. Mitsuhide looked between the two and his frown deepened.

"Exactly _what _did you ask her to buy, Lady Aya?" he interrogated, stepping closer to the two. Surprisingly, Aya silently extended the bag to him.

"See for yourself." she offered, to which Mitsuhide immediately took the bag from her hand and opened them to examine their goods.

"The bottles of eggnog are for Kenshin and I, along with Lord Shingen and Ujiyasu." Aya explained, "I'm planning on knitting a scarf out of the red yarn."

"And the peppermint?" Mitsuhide asked, looking upset that there was nothing else to be found in the bag.

Aya smiled. "I had a sweet tooth." she admitted, prompting Mitsubachi to giggle next to her.

"Well... if this is all that you bought... I suppose that you may have this back, then..." he conceded, passing the bag back to Aya.

"May I, now?" she asked, casting one of her darker smiles at him. She unwrapped herself from Mitsubachi, and took off with the bag in tow. Mitsubachi watched her for a moment before turning back to Mitsuhide. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna go spend time with her." she said, bowing and then taking off in the same direction as Aya. Mitsuhide was left in the doorway, allowing some relief to overshadow his perplexed thoughts.

_Well, I suppose she's not planning on doing anything after all. _he decided.

It didn't take Mitsubachi long to catch up to Aya, and she clasped onto her free hand once they were side by side. Aya didn't mind, and, squeezed her back.

"So where is it?" she asked. Mistubachi smirked.

"I'm sworn to silence." she said, raising a finger to her lips, and raising her eyes. Aya looked up to her head, where Meowth was still laying. He yawned, and in his mouth could be seen a large pile of leaves and red berries. Aya laughed.

"I think you may have just outdone me in terms of creativity, dear girl." she complimented. Mitsubachi snickered.

"Finally, that big mouth of yours is useful." she said, lifting her hand to scratch her Pokemon behind the ears. Meowth rubbed his head against the caress and purred appreciatively. Mitsubachi chuckled and turned back to Aya. "You might want to leave them out to dry before using them, though."

"If I leave them with you, would you be opposed to distributing these around the castle for me?" Aya asked.

"What do I even do with these things?" the black-clad girl asked.

"I'll give you the instructions over a cup of tea." Aya stated.

As they continued walking, they passed by Nene and her Crobat, and the three exchanged greetings before going on their way. After passing by the teacher and student, Nene walked into a room, noticing Hideyoshi and Ieyasu talking in there.

"Ah, good! I found you two!" she said, walking over and sitting down in front of them.

"What's up?" Hideyoshi asked. Nene grinned.

"I'm going around signing up participants to be Santa's elves." she said, before turning to Ieyasu. "And, of course, Santa~!" She pulled out a red Santa suit from behind her back and held it up. Ieyasu inspected the coat that may as well have had his name on it, and heaved a tired sigh.

"Lady Nene, aren't I getting a bit old for this?" he asked.

Hideyoshi snickered, "And that's exactly what makes you so perfect to be Santa!" Ieyasu turned to glare at the other Warlord as he and his Infernape broke out in identical laughter.

"Keep your opinions to yourself!" he snapped.

"He's right, though." Nene cut in, "You are the perfect person to play Santa. Now don't go trying to get out of it, Ieyasu! Remember, it's for the children! You wouldn't want to disappoint the little dears, now would you?" she asked, taking on her best puppy-dog eyes. Ieyasu was not fazed in the slightest, having suffered through this routine for several years now.

"May I at least have Christmas Day off? It's becoming a bother passing out _all _of those presents every year on Christmas morning."

Nene frowned, "Not a chance! You're dressing up for the gift exchanging on Christmas morning as well!" Her frown suddenly turned into a mischievous smirk, "Hideyoshi, I know I can count on you to be Santa's head elf this year!" Hideyoshi stopped laughing when his name was called and sat up straight, noticing matching smug glares from the other two Warlords.

"What? Ya mean me?" he asked, rather surprised. This would be the first year that Nene had ever explicitly directed him to participate with the Santa show for the kids. Sure, she may have guilted him into it in previous years, like she did with everyone, but...

"Of course, silly! You'll be perfect to be head elf!" Nene stated.

"Isn't the head elf the one that takes over for Santa while he takes a cookie break halfway through?" he asked. Nene nodded.

"Yup; I even prepared this year's backup Santa suit in your size!" she declared, pulling out yet another Santa costume from under the first one.

"I think you're _perfect _to be head elf, Hideyoshi." Ieyasu stated, smirking at the other Warlord's discomfort. Nene leaned forward, and placed her face within inches of Hideyoshi's, glaring evilly at him.

"You _are _going to say 'yes', aren't you, Hideyoshi? You wouldn't want to disappoint the little kids, now would you?" she said with a very tight jaw. A shiver went down his spine, and he backed up just a bit from her, an uneasy smile forming on his face.

"Y-y-yeah, N-Nene... whatever you...say." he stuttered. Nene instantly went back to her normal, cheerful self, and smiled sweetly at him.

"You will? Oh, Hideyoshi, I'm sooo happy to hear that! Let me just put your name on the list..." She took out a pen and ink from a pouch attached to her wrist, and grabbed the scroll that her Crobat had been holding. She began to quickly scribble The fire-type Warlord's name onto the sheet, next to the words, 'Head Elf' that had already been written, right beneath the word, 'Santa'. "And I'll just put down Ieyasu for Santa..."

"Lady Nene, are you sure that no one else might be interested in..." Ieyasu wasn't able to finish his sentence, because Nene stopped him with a soul-chilling glare that would make even Kotaro flee for cover. Ieyasu flinched away instantly, realizing his life was on the line.

"Eh... never mind..." he muttered.

"Thought so." Nene remarked with a nod as she turned back to finish writing Ieyasu's name on the sheet. The other two Warlords dared to look over at some of the other names that she had collected as of yet. Nearly half of the castle had been recruited into it so far, and the absence of certain names made it obvious that she had not yet gone around to everyone. When done, she smiled and stood up, putting the pen and ink back into the pouch around her wrist, folded up the two Santa suits, and handed the scroll of names back to Crobat. She looked down at the two.

"I knew I could depend on the two of you to help out; you're both such good boys! It means so much to the children when we do this for Christmas, you know. Well, I still have to go around asking a few other people if they want to volunteer to be Santa's elves, so I'll see you both later for dinner, then!" Waving a final goodbye, she twirled on her heel and exited back into the corridor, leaving behind two frightened Warlords in her wake.

"Well, that takes care of those two!" Nene told Crobat as they kept going down the hallway. "Not all that's left to do is to ask everyone who's left... hmm, let's see..." She held her hand up and started listing people off her fingers. "I still need to ask the twins if they want to volunteer, and Kenshin, Aya and Kanetsugu as well. Lord Tadakatsu, Ina, Lord Ujiyasu and Kai, Lord Shingen, Lord Motochika... aaaannd Muneshige and Ginchiyo. Oh, and I almost forgot about Mitsubachi! She would probably love to help out!"

Nene peeked into every room she passed by, hoping to find the people she had yet to recruit. The first room she found that had said people in it contained a large group. Motochika was sitting in a corner with his Dewott, strumming the cords of his shamisen to a festive tune while Dewott was napping right next to him. Tadakatsu and Muneshige were seated by a table and were having a conversation about weapons craftsmanship, and across the room, Ina, Kai and Ryoko were having a conversation of their own. Occasionally, Ryoko and Kai would glance over in Muneshige's direction, and would turn back giggling while Ina gave them confused looks. Their Pokemon were all next to them, talking amongst themselves as well, with Darumaka and Piplup sometimes getting into a dispute. Next to Tadakatsu and Muneshige's table, Hanbei and Mitsubachi had set up a game of chess, and the two appeared to currently be suffering a stalemate, as neither one was moving any of their pieces, and both had a hand on their chin in deep thought. Pikachu was, unsurprisingly, taking a nap next to Hanbei, yet Mitsubachi's Meowth was nowhere to be seen at the moment, which was very unusual, since the two were always that the two competitors were too focused to pay attention to her then, Nene walked over to the girls instead.

"Hello, girls!" She greeted walking over. The three turned to her and made room in their circle as they greeted her.

"Hello, Lady Nene." they each greeted her.

"Need something?" Kai asked.

"Let me guess..." Ina said with a smile.

"If you'd guess that I'm going around asking for good little elves to volunteer, you'd be right!" Nene said, taking the scroll from Crobat and holding it up to the three girls. "There's plenty of room for anyone who wants to sign up, so don't be shy. It's for a good cause, remember!"

"What are we volunteering for?" Ryoko asked.

Nene turned to Ryoko. "Oh, I forgot! This is your first Christmas party in Nixtorm, dear!" she giggled, "Well, here's how it is: Every year we throw these parties, it's been a tradition for some of the Warlords to go down to the surrounding village on Christmas Eve, and play Santa for all the little children. One of the Warlords has the honor of dressing up as Santa, and anyone who wants to help out as well can dress up as Santa's elves! While Santa puts on a show for the children and asks them what they want for Christmas, the elves will do things like play with the kids, pass out cookies and hot chocolate, bring food to some of the families, and other good things. It started out as something we did for the homeless children and poor families, but nowadays we do it for the entire village, just because everyone always has so much fun!"

"Wow; that's really great, Lady Nene!" Ryoko responded, eyes lighting up excitedly

Ina giggled, "For the last few years now, Lord Ieyasu has been Santa."

"And he does it so well, too!" Nene added with her own chuckles. "There may be only one Santa, but we can never have too many good little elves to help out. So can I count on you girls? I promise you'll have a lot of fun with it!"

"Of course I'll help out!" Ryoko said, immediately taking the sign-up sheet from Nene, who then got out the pen and ink and passed them to Ryoko as well. Ryoko crouched on the floor, and began writing out her name. "This is gonna be really fun! I'll sign up Ryo and Oichi, so they can do it, too."

Nene clapped her hands together. "Thank you, dear! The children are going to love seeing you and your brother; you're both such superstars! And don't forget; your Pokemon should come as well, so the children can play with them."

"Right."

"I'll sign up as well." Ina said, as she knelt next to Ryoko and took the pen from her hand, writing her name under the Eevee-Warlord's. "I've missed doing this while Ransei was at war. It was one of the best Christmas memories I have."

After she finished, Kai got down and squeezed between the two. "I see Kunoichi's name near the top. I wouldn't hear the end of it if I didn't put my name down, too." she stated, scribbling her name across the sheet. "Besides, it wouldn't be nearly as fun for the two of you if I wasn't there!"

Nene collected the pen, ink and paper off the floor when the three had finished, and smiled broadly at them. "Thank you, girls! You're really gonna be a big help come Christmas Eve! Bye!" she waved and turned to go to Hanbei and Mitsubachi's table, where, their stalemate had been broken, with Mitsubachi taking the win, and Hanbei looking bewildered at the board.

"There's no way you beat a genius's best strategies again, Tabby!" he whined, looking down at the board. "I know you messed up somewhere, and I'm gonna find out where!"

Mitsubachi sighed, "Okay, look, you moved your Empoleon here, so that you could capture my Serperior. When your turn ended, I moved my Bidoof here, to the other side of the board. Because of this, my Bidoof was promoted to a Serperior piece, but you didn't take that into account, as you moved your Empoleon to dispose of my Bisharp piece the following turn, not knowing that you were then setting yourself up for my newly promoted piece to take you out. Checkmate."

"When did that Bidoof get there?! I didn't see it the whole game!"

"That's because you were so focused on taking out my higher ranking pieces, while I was remaining on the defensive the whole time."

"Aaaww! No fair!" Hanbei complained, going into a mini-tantrum.

"Rematch?" Mitsubachi asked, prompting Hanbei to smirk.

"You know it!" he said, as he began to set up his side of the board again. "I won't be beaten twice!"

"I've already beaten you twice." Mitsubachi stated, "Our overall score so far is two-nothing."

"Well, I intend to get my first victory of the day starting now!" Hanbei declared.

"Before you two start..." Nene said, waving her hand between the two to get their attention. "would you mind terribly signing up for our Santa in the village? It's for the children!" she turned to Mitsubachi directly. "This is your first Christmas here, too, Mitsubachi! So here's what we do: Every year for..."

"I heard you explaining it to Ryoko a minute ago, Lady Nene." Mitsubachi said while taking her own pieces and setting them up on her side of the board. "It sounds like a nice gesture for the kids in town, but I can't put my name down. I plan on going back home a day or two before Christmas Eve. More than anything, I want to be with my family for Christmas. And even if I wasn't going back... I wouldn't be a very good help. I'm not the type to socialize, especially with people I don't know... and kids don't tend to like me very much..."

"It's only because you dress like a psycho murderer." Hanbei stated bluntly, gesturing to her all-black, long-sleeved attire. "Kanbei has the same problem with people, _especially _kids."

"That could easily be changed with a cute little elf costume!" Nene said. Mitsubachi shuttered.

"I don't wear bright colors, especially the ones found in typical Christmastime ensembles." she replied, "And I especially don't do elf costumes unless they're of the protective forest spirits variety."

"Okay then, miss dark cloud." Nene sighed, putting her hands on her hips, "I'd still like you to help out anyway, but if you're going back home the day before, it doesn't matter all the same."

"Sorry." Mitsubachi said, offering up a sympathetic smile.

Hanbei smiled. "Well, you've still got a friend in me, Lady Nene." he promised, taking the pen and ink and writing his name on the paper. "I'll be ready to go on Christmas Eve with Pikachu!" he looked down at his buddy, but Pikachu continued snoozing, with only a yawn as its reply.

Nene smiled. "Thanks, Hanbei. I appreciate it." she said, "I'll let the two of you get back to your game now. Hey, Tadakatsu, Muneshige! You two are planning on signing up to be Santa's elves, right?"

While Nene was busy recruiting the two Warlords, Hanbei and Mitsubachi returned to their game.

"I feel a bit bad for not helping." Mitsubachi stated, while Hanbei began his first move.

"If you're leaving early, there's nothing you can do about it. Don't over-think it." Hanbei stated, "Just the fact that you'd consider puts you ways ahead of Kanbei or some of the other Warlords. Nene will yell at them until her face turns blue, and they still won't budge an inch." He moved his first piece.

"Let me guess..." Mitsubachi said, starting her first turn. "Other than Kanbei... I take it No is one of those."

"You'd guess right." Hanbei agreed, watching her place her move while he started his without hesitation.

"Aaaannd, our friendly neighborhood psychopath, Kotaro." she continued.

Hanbei laughed. "Well, in his case, Nene actually prefers that he _doesn't _participate." Mitsubachi laughed as well, making her next move.

"I don't blame her. As much as I like Kotaro, he is _not _child friendly in the slightest!"

They played through another full game, this one ending in Hanbei's victory, which he oh-so smugly made every effort to state... until Mitsubachi informed him that their overall chess score at the moment was Hanbei: 12, Mitsubachi: 23, and Kanbei 22, which caused Hanbei to sulk again. She decided to cut Hanbei a break, however, quickly shaking hands for a game well-played. She walked over to where Motochika was, and sat down next to him. The two began to talk music, and Mitsubachi started petting Dewott, causing the otter Pokemon's leg to twitch in appreciation as she was able to scratch the sweet spot behind his ears. Now incredibly bored, Hanbei decided to go over and talk to the girls instead. Sensing his partner about to move, Pikachu woke up and climbed up onto Hanbei's hat, before Hanbei got up and walked over to the three.

"Mitsubachi beat you again?" Kai asked with a smirk. Hanbei groaned.

"She only beat me once, and that was 'cause I went easy on her." he fibbed, "The other two games were totally mine!"

"Uh-huh. Sure." Kai replied sarcastically.

"So, Nene signed you up as well?" Ryoko asked. Hanbei turned to the girl and smiled.

"Yup. I'm gonna be a smash with the little ones; kids love Pikachu, ya know!" he smiled, looking up at the once again sleeping Pikachu in question. "And he's good with the ladies as well, not unlike myself." he stated.

Kai scoffed, "Save it, Mr. 'Ladies' Man'. We've already got one Magoichi in the world, we don't need another one."

Hanbei smirked and batted his eyes at Kai. "Aw, c'mon! You gotta admit I'm pretty cute!" he replied. Kai rolled her eyes.

"Well," she sighed, "I guess that's one thing you've got going for you that Magoichi doesn't."

Hanbei turned to Ryoko. "And what about you, Ryoko? Admit it, you know I'm irresistible!" he declared, wiggling his eyebrows in emphasis. She giggled.

"Of course you're cute, Hanbei!" she agreed. Hanbei turned back to Kai, looking smug.

"What'd I tell ya?" he said.

"Whatever." Kai stated with a shrug.

"You are very cute, Hanbei." Ina replied as well.

"Ha; so now that's two out of three! The majority has spoken, Kai!" Hanbei declared.

"Alright, then. How about a second poll: Which is cuter; Hanbei or Pikachu? My votes on Pikachu!" Kai declared.

"I definitely vote for Pikachu." Ryoko agreed.

"Sorry, Hanbei; it's no competition when it comes to a cuddly Pikachu." Ina said as well.

"But I'm cuddly, too!" Hanbei whined.

"Sorry, but I don't want to prove that." Kai stated, causing Hanbei to pout. "And let's face it; you'd only be half as cute without Pikachu on your head."

"Well, that still makes me _twice _as cute as you..." Hanbei muttered. Kai picked up on the comment, though, and grabbed him by his shirt.

"What did you just say, kid?!" she demanded, fire burning in her eyes.

"Well, using brawny threats to intimidate me doesn't really help matters for you much, not does it?" Hanbei taunted with a grin.

"Ooooh, that does it, you little...!" Kai seethed. Before she could act on her anger, however, Ina stepped in and gently but firmly removed Kai from the young genius.

"I think... we should maybe step out." Ina said with an uneasy smile, completely used to her best friend's outbursts.

"Brawny-! Why, I'll show that little cretin! Let me at him, Ina, I'll show him!" Kai continued to rage.

"I'm sure you will," Ina agreed, "but suppose we get some lunch before you decide to enact your 'revenge'." she suggested, pulling her out the door.

Ryoko and Hanbei watched the two go, and each offered a smile, Ryoko's matching Ina's, and Hanbei's of smugness.

"I'm not brawny." They heard Kai mumbling outside the door, "I'm just in really good shape."

"I know, I know." Ina agreed as their voices got farther away, "Come on; I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

Once they had gone completely from the room, Ryoko turned back to Hanbei and offered an apologetic smile. "Er, sorry about that..." she began.

"Nah, it was mostly my fault anyway. Us geniuses have a habit of picking fights with people, you know. We enjoy battles of wits. Though, I guess I shouldn't have looked for that kind of fight with Kai..." Ryoko giggled.

"Kai's a lot smarter than I am."

"I find that hard to believe." Hanbei said.

"Well, believe it. She's one of the most down-to-earth people I know!"

"You must not know as many people as I thought you did, then." Hanbei deadpanned.

Ryoko laughed. "I should probably head after them, actually. We were thinking about going shopping later, so better to stay with them now so we don't have to go looking for each other later."

"Sure you don't wanna spend some time with me?" Hanbei asked with a smirk.

"Maybe later." Ryoko stated, "I could play you in a game of chess, if you'd like."

"I guess that's fine..." Hanbei said, seeming a bit disappointed before brightening up. "Well, hey, if you've gotta go, then at least let me impart this goodbye onto you."

Before Ryoko could respond, Hanbei had leaned forward, and captured her lips in a sweet kiss. Ryoko's eyes widened in surprise, yet she made no move to push him away. The kiss was brief, lasting only two seconds at the most, and Hanbei pulled away with a wide smile on his face. Ryoko paused for a minute, still surprised by what had happened, but she managed to place a hand over her lips and give a few giggles.

"Hey!" she chuckled out, "What was that for?" To answer her, Hanbei pointed up directing her gaze to a shelf that they were standing under. Looking to where he was pointing, Ryoko noticed in surprise that there was mistletoe hanging above them, and that Mitsubachi's Meowth was the one holding it up over the two.

"I was wondering where her Meowth got off to." Hanbei stated, "Looks like Lady Aya managed to sneak mistletoe in after all this year."

"Mistletoe?" Ryoko repeated, still observing the plant with mild awe.

"I wouldn't say that Lady Aya's a genius like myself," Hanbei continued, "but she is one crafty lady. If she's got Mitsubachi helping her this year, that only makes things better." He turned to Ryoko. "So... how was the kiss?"

Still fixated on the mistletoe, Ryoko smiled and turned to Hanbei. "Hanbei, this is great!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, I would expect that sort of response. I mean, it's not every day that you get lucky enough to have a genius kiss you. Actually, I feel pretty lucky myself..." he said, blushing slightly.

Ryoko turned to Hanbei. "I need to find Ryo and Oichi! I wonder where they are right now?" she wondered.

"Wait... what about your brother and Oichi?" Hanbei asked, not following where the conversation went.

"Don't you see? This is the perfect chance!" Ryoko said, "I've gotta go, Hanbei! I'll see ya later for chess!" Ryoko then turned and ran out the door down the hallway, going off to find her brother and best friend. Hanbei came out of the door and watched her leave, looking incredibly deflated.

"Wait... how was the kiss?!" he called after her, now paranoid as he did not get an answer. "Did you like it?! I liked it!" Realizing she didn't hear him, and he probably looked like a huge non-genius yelling down the halls like that, he turned and walked back into the room.

"What if she didn't like it?" he thought out loud to himself. "What if she only made up an excuse to get away from me because she didn't want to tell me how bad it was? What if she tells her friends and everyone starts laughing at me?" He freaked out. For all his confidence and remarkable intelligence, Hanbei was not the type to take defeat very well. If he messed up, it was a very bad experience for him.

"Here, have a berry to calm your nerves."

Hanbei turned around to see Mitsubachi standing behind him, with Meowth now back on her shoulders. She had a hand extended ho him, which contained a berry, and in her other hand she was holding the mistletoe.

"Lady Aya said that this was part of this whole mistletoe thing. You take a berry off the plant and eat it once you've kissed someone under it." She shook her head. "I can't say I understand what any of that has to do with Christmas, but whatever. I'm not one to judge."

Sighing, Hanbei accepted the berry and ate it. "Do you think she liked the kiss?" he asked.

"Does it matter if she did?" Mitsubachi asked.

"Of course it matters!" Hanbei exclaimed, "I don't want her laughing at me the next time she sees me!"

"Did _you _enjoy the kiss?" she asked.

"If I answered 'yes', would you make fun of me?" Hanbei asked.

"For enjoying a kiss? Of course not." she told him. "If nothing else, though, you liked it. Even if she didn't, you still have that to look back on and be happy about."

He sighed. "I guess..." he muttered dejectedly.

"If you want to know so bad, then ask her later."

His cheeks turned pick. "I couldn't do that!" he stated.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Well, I..."

"What's the worst that could happen? Even if she says what you don't want to hear, at least you'll know she's being honest with you. If she lies, and says she liked it, it means she cares about you and doesn't want to hurt your feelings. And if she honestly says that she liked it, then you know the truth. Either way, it's hard for you to lose in this situation."

"I suppose that's true..." Hanbei conceded, still sounding upset, but also thoughtful of Mitsubachi's advice.

"Well, do what you think is best, Hanbei. I don't need to tell a genius strategist what to do." she said with a wink. "Now, while I have to swear you to secrecy, I've got to go to another room now so Mitsuhide doesn't accidentally catch sight of this stuff." she explained, stuffing the plant into a pocket on her coat. "I feel bad for doing this to Ryoko, but survival is the key, here. Remember, if you say anything to Lord Mitsuhide, then I shall have no choice but to expose you for the terrible liar that you are, my dear." she said, mimicking another of Aya's smiles. "See you later, Hanbei. Good luck with Ryoko when you see her again." After saying her goodbye, she took off down the hall in the opposite direction of Ryoko, considering where to put the plant with the goofy tradition next.

Elsewhere in the castle, Aya was walking down a hallway, carrying two bagfulls of eggnog in both hands. Hers and Mitsubachi's paths crossed while they were walking down the east wing.

"Any bites yet?" Aya asked as they began to walk next to each other.

"Just one. That's why I'm walking around now." she replied. "Lord Mitsuhide?"

"He is just down the hall, enjoying a conversation with some of his other guests."

"Then to the west wing I go." Mitsubachi declared, making the first immediate left she came to and disappearing down another corridor. Aya giggled as she watched the girl depart. A part of her wanted to join her little matchmaker-in-training, to see what she managed to pull off. But she had already made plans as it was, and she was running a bit behind. She continued on her way until she came to the first closed off door she noticed. Sliding the door open and peeking inside, she discovered her brother, Lord Shingen and Lord Ujiyasu all sitting around a table in the center of the small room, chatting with one another. Their conversation ceased, however, when they noticed her in the doorway. She smiled a quick greeting to the three men, and entered, gently closing the door shut from behind her.

"Ah, there you are, my dear." Shingen greeted her cheerfully, "We were wondering when you might get here."

Ujiyasu didn't seem as pleased. "You certainly took your sweet time." he noted irately, "I'd like to know why you had us all come down here if you weren't planning on arriving yourself for a good fifteen minutes. I can't suffer you fools when I'm sober, you know.

Unperturbed by Ujiyasu's typical behavior towards her, she merely took her place at the empty side of the table, setting both bags on top of it.

"Not to worry, my lord." she replied, "I believe this more than compensates for my delayed arrival." As she said this, she began emptying the bags of their contents, taking out a dozen bottles of eggnog, and for some reason, _eight _cups, rather than four. Though the three veteran Warlords were only concerned with the drinks at the moment.

Kenshin chuckled. "It certainly does, Sister." he agreed.

Ujiyasu rolled his eyes. "Hmph. Kiss-up." Kenshin merely chose to ignore the Cragspur Warlord's remarks, and instead reached for one of the large cups.

"I suppose, in consideration, we _should _limit our intake of alcohol in accordance to Lord Mitsuhide's rules." Aya stated offhandedly as she passed two cups to each of them. "It is only just, considering our current lodgings within his castle."

Ujiyasu stuck up his nose a bit at this notion. "Don't joke around, my dear. The only thing Mitsuhide's 'rules' are good for is fuel for the fire!" he retorted, "If you want to submit to his crap, then by all means, but I work hard most of the year. If I want to drink on one of the few vacations I allow myself, then I'm gonna drink. Consequences be damned."

Shingen sighed and shook his head. "A bit crude, but I agree with Ujiyasu. I'm not going to bend backwards for Mitsuhide just because he's afraid his castle is going to crumble. I'm going to drink as much as I please."

"Hehe. That's quite selfish of both of you." Aya giggled.

Ujiyasu shot the woman a glare, and pointed in her direction. "Don't go acting like a perfect little houseguest, sweetheart! _You're _mostly responsible for destroying this place on an annual basis. I'd go as far as to say you're to blame for these malarkey rules, too!"

Aya feigned sadness, yet her smile still remained. "Is that how you feel?" she asked, her voice low.

"Hmph. If you're intent on making the rest of us suffer for your juvenile mistletoe schemes, the least you could do is offer some compensation for my troubles..." he said with a smirk, leaning his face closer to hers. Aya's smile faltered, and she quickly pushed her habitual flirt away before Kenshin had a chance to pull out any weapons and start making death threats.

"Ah, and we were having such a pleasant conversation up until this point." she sighed without emotion, "Pity."

"Well then," Shingen cut in, noticing Kenshin was still tensely considering trying to get back at Ujiyasu for flirting with Aya for the umpteenth time in their long history. "Shall we break into the eggnog?"

Aya nodded, immediately reverting back to her pleasant self. "The rules are the same as every year; whomever can consume the most before passing out is the winner. For each drink poured for yourself, you place ten gold in the center of the table."

Ujiyasu raised an eyebrow at her. "What happened to 'respecting Mitsuhide's wishes'?" he asked her sarcastically.

Aya grinned, and began to pour drinks into each of the cups in front of them. "Mitsuhide was very specific in stating that no alcohol was to be consumed at any time 'before the evening meal', and a limit of 'two glasses per person'. Well... I brought two glasses for each of us," she indicated to the eight glasses placed in front of each of them. "and we are currently drinking several hours after last evening's meal.

Shingen burst out laughing as he passed both of his cups to her. "Ah, I've missed that wit of yours, my dear."

Ujiyasu allowed a grin of his own, always enjoying Aya's warped perception of things. "Well, let's not waste any more time talking and begin." he said, before turning back to Aya with a sly smirk. "Hey, how about a kiss for good luck, sweetie?"

Aya managed to keep her composure this time around, and offered her own smirk. "It wouldn't do you any good. My Kenshin shall be the winner, just as always." she promised.

"That so?" Ujiyasu asked, "Would you be willing to bet anything on that, just to raise the stakes a bit?"

Aya considered briefly, before deciding to humor the fool's stubbornness. "An invitation to Illusio for dinner." she offered.

"So a date, then?" Ujiyasu replied enthusiastically, "I like where this is going."

Kenshin's eyes narrowed towards Ujiyasu once again. "If you wish to die, I suggest you save your vulgar notions for when you are drunk and numb."

"At any rate, I am not competing, so I am in no position to be making wagers." Aya corrected, "At least one of us should have their wits about them, after all."

This didn't stop Ujiyasu, however, as he turned to offer his own glare and confident smirk at the pretty girl's brother. "Alright then. _Kenshin_; do you wager up a date with your lovely sister in the event that I win?"

"I wager a sword through your skull in the event that you _lose_." Kenshin retorted through a clenched jaw, his hand inches away from a knife attached to his belt.

"You don't give up, do you?" Shingen asked Ujiyasu, "Alright, let's all agree to keep the rules as usual. _No _raised stakes! _No _foolish added conditions!"

"Agreed." Kenshin replied.

"I suppose that's fine." Ujiyasu sighed, reaching for his filled cup and taking a sip. "I know my kid is gonna want to borrow some money to do last-second shopping for Christmas presents. It'll be nice to actually have some money that I don't intend to give her." He chuckled, picturing how Kai would throw a tantrum and beg him to give her some spare change.

"You torture that poor girl." Aya stated.

"You wouldn't think that way if you had to take responsibility of her for yourself." he assured her.

"One of the times your charge ran away, she stayed in Illusio castle with Kenshin and I for two weeks." Aya reminded him, "She was an incredibly helpful, well-mannered young lady during her stay, and she was an eager student as well."

"Oh, right; I forgot that you were the one to poison her mind! She gave me even _more _back talk after staying with you two." Ujiyasu snapped, taking another swig of his drink. While the two were continuing their dispute, Kenshin and Shingen were mindfully staying out of it, instead silently drinking from their own cups.

"I suppose it only shows how poor of a leader you are." Aya shrugged, pouring herself a glass of eggnog as well, deciding to indulge in a single glass... or maybe two.

"What?!" Ujiyasu demanded.

"They just can't be pleasant with one another, can they?" Shingen asked his rival.

"I am perfectly fine with that." Kenshin declared, drinking down his first cup, and placing a coin in the middle of the table before moving on to the next glass.

**~Three Drinks Later...~**

"You know... you are... like, the _most beautiful _woman I've ever met, Aya." Ujiyasu stated, gazing deeply into her eyes. "I... I know I've said that to a _lot _of women, but you are definitely _the one_, single most beautiful woman I've ever met."

"...Uh, Ujiyasu." Shingen said, "That's Kenshin. Aya's over there." Ujiyasu glanced over to where Shingen was pointing, realizing that Aya was indeed next to him. Looking back to Kenshin, the God of War was staring at him with annoyance evident. Realizing he had made a mistake, Ujiyasu turned back to Aya to continue what he was saying.

"And you have a beautiful twin sister, too!" he said, gesturing back to Kenshin, who proceeded to place his head in his free hand and shake his head. Shingen and Aya, however, started to laugh incessantly, only dying down when they took another drink. By this point, the pile of gold that had amassed at the center of the table consisted of nine coins, with Kenshin, Shingen and Ujiyasu each on their third, with Kenshin about to help himself to a fourth, and Aya still on her first, debating whether or not to help herself to seconds. By this point, Ujiyasu was the most blatantly drunk, though it was clear that Shingen was beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol as well, and Kenshin remained seemingly unaffected.

"Well anyway, as I was saying before Ujiyasu decided to compliment Aya," Shingen said, "I guarantee this Onix, _this Onix _jumped nearly twenty feet into the air, no doubt about it! Flew right over the farmhouse before burrowing back into the ground. You would think it was a Wailord, looked like it was breaching! And it was certainly a good sized Onix, _at least _forty-five feet or so. _Definitely _not a lightweight!"

"Oh, you are so full of crap, old man!" Ujiyasu declared, reaching for one of the opened bottles nearest him to pour himself another drink after seeing Kenshin starting up on his fourth. Although slightly drunk, he still hadn't forgotten that he intended to beat those two.

"You really think I'd make something like that up?" Shingen exclaimed.

"The last time we went drinking, you started telling us about how Rhyperior managed to run a hole straight through your castle one time when it got spooked by a Wooper spraying water on it."

"That was true, too!" Shingen declared.

"Oh, please. You want a _real _story?" Ujiyasu began, "Kotaro was visiting from Yaksha a few months ago. That damned Zoroark of his has the habit of making itself look like people in the castle when the two of 'em visit. Tried to impersonate my kid while she had snuck off somewhere to ditch training, even went as far as to obey orders from me because it thought it was accurately portraying what she would normally do. I was considering locking Kai up in a broom closet and replacing her with Zoroark completely. Not only did he take orders, but he couldn't mimic her voice, so he didn't ever talk back. I asked Kotaro if he wanted to trade for the kid. Heh, she was fuming when she got back, and she started shooting her mouth off. By that point, it was more trouble than it was worth."

"And just what was so remarkable about that?" Shingen questioned.

"The fact that I managed to get an entire day of silence!" he replied, before downing the rest of his drink and reaching for another.

"Erm... perhaps you should..." Shingen began.

"And that's not the first time she's decided that the world revolves around her, let me tell you!" Ujiyasu continued, "This one time, she refused to come out of her room for the whole day. It wasn't until that evening I managed to break down her door. Turns out, she was having a _bad hair day_! Of all the stupid and fickle things I've ever heard! She should have been running laps and practicing her swordsmanship first thing in the morning, and she lets a few split ends cause her to waste an entire day!"

"...slow down." Shingen finished, but conceded and filled up his glass again as well, while Ujiyasu continued to tell about his misadventures with Kai.

**~Five Drinks Later...~**

The room was shaking with laughter from three of its four occupants. The empty bottles were beginning to pile up, as was the coin pile. Kenshin was on his sixth drink, yet was remaining as stone-faced as ever. Shingen and Ujiyasu were both on their fifth cups, and they each felt that their stories were hilarious, even though most of them didn't make much sense. Aya was joining in the laughter as well. She had decided to limit herself to two drinks and a half, which quickly became three drinks when she wasn't sure what to consider 'half'. She still seemed to be her usual self, if not slightly more affectionate. Although, the fact that she had taken to leaning on Kenshin's shoulder may have contributed to that notion.

"And then she says, 'I need to be the center of attention right now! My life is in a crisis situation!'. I said right back, 'Kid, you haven't even _seen _a crisis yet! Just wait until you hit thirty!'" Ujiyasu finished, and he and Shingen began roaring with laughter.

"You should have said 'forty'!" Shingen said, "That _really _would have scared her." Ujiyasu kept laughing at that.

"She probably would have fainted if I had told her she'll be forty someday!" he hollered through his uncontrollable chortles. The two glanced over at the Illusio siblings, noticing Aya still in her fit of giggles and snuggling against Kenshin.

"What's up with her? Did she finally snap?" Ujiyasu asked.

"She gets a bit affectionate when she drinks enough." Kenshin explained as Aya wrapped her arms around him.

"I am only being affectionate because you are my sweet, darling, dearest brother, Kenshin." Aya explained, showing much more control than Shingen and Ujiyasu were.

"...Then again, perhaps the drinks have nothing to do with it." Kenshin considered, as his two rivals broke out in laughter again.

**~Seven Drinks Later...~**

Now things were beginning to slow down. Well... at least they were for Kenshin and Shingen, anyway. As for Ujiyasu, he was making sure to out-drink the both of them, now exceeding Kenshin by two drinks, Shingen by three. By this point, Kenshin had contributed seven coins to the pile, Shingen six, and Ujiyasu nine. Aya had stopped drinking, though she was considering pouring herself a fourth cup so that she wouldn't want to (lovingly) slug Ujiyasu as much as she did now. He was becoming obnoxiously drunk, and was taking every offhanded comment as a challenge. To make matters worse, he had spilled eggnog on her when he stood up just now to challenge Kenshin to hand-to-hand combat.

"Ujiyasu, for your sake, this better not damage my dress." she told him as she continued to dab at the front of the dress's material with a damp towel.

"Quit your whining, Kenshin! It was an accident!" Ujiyasu stated, "Now come up here so I can slug you, ya self-righteous creep!"

"If you were a gentleman like my dear brother was, you would offer to buy me a new dress, or at least pay to have this one cleaned." she stated.

"Quit stalling and get up here!" Ujiyasu repeated, before turning to the real Kenshin. "Hey, Aya, if I beat your brother, you owe me a kiss, sweetheart!" He emptied the drink in his hand, set it back on the table, and instantly picked up his other full glass.

"It's rather unsettling how he keeps confusing the two of you." Shingen remarked.

"Stay out of this, Shingen!" Ujiyasu said, "This is all me!"

"I wasn't talking to you." Shingen replied.

"Alright, if that's how you want it, then come on! Just like old time! You versus me versus Kenshin versus you! Tell you what, I'll even take you both on blindfolded, so you have a fair chance against me!" he exclaimed, taking off the scarf that he had been wearing and wrapping it around his eyes. "Come at me, Shingen! Come at me!"

Shingen frowned and stood up as well, not before first finishing off his seventh drink and handing the cup over to Aya to refill it. "Alright, I'm putting an end to this stupidity! Stay still so I can strangle you!" Shingen said, before charging at Ujiyasu and the two broke out into a fight... which consisted entirely of a bunch of punches at the air in front of each other and no actual fighting, save for one instance of Ujiyasu actually managing to get Shingen in a two second headlock before the two fell over.

"You think you got a chance against me?!" Ujiyasu laughed, "I've never lost a battle in my life!"

"Your memory must be going! You've lost more battles than Kenshin and I _combined_!"

From the sidelines, Aya and Kenshin observed with indifference. The siblings exchanged glances, while Aya merely shrugged and proceeded to refill Shingen's drink for him.

"Don't look at me; they're _your _friends, dear brother." she stated, as Ujiyasu climbed up on the table and launched himself into a body slam that, by some miracle, caused no injury to him or the empty floor he landed on.

**~Eight Drinks Later...~**

"Ya know...I... I _love _you guys!" Ujiyasu admitted, leaning over the table.

"Oh, really...!" Shingen replied, shaking his head.

"No...no... I mean it!" Ujiyasu continued. "You are the...the... the _best _friends ever! All _five _of you!"

"'All five'?" Aya questioned.

Ujiyasu nodded and began pointing in seemingly random directions. "You, Shingen, Kenshin... the other Kenshin... and the eggnog! I'm gonna buy you all dinner tonight!"

"You know... Ujiyasu..." Shingen slurred, shifting to look over at him. "That... that really means a lot, coming from you... It really..."

"No, it's just... you think about it, and... _friendship_... is something that you can't..."

"Yes, yes! You're right! You're... so right!" Shingen agreed, looking awestruck as though the other man had just imparted some sagely wisdom to them.

Ujiyasu nodded, and turned to Kenshin. "Ken... Aya... Kenshin... Kenshin, right?"

Kenshin sighed. "Yes... for once today, you're right." he said irately.

"Okay, good." Ujiyasu said, relieved. "Kenshin, let me tell ya. You are... you mean a lot to me... I would... you are like _family_, we've known each other for so long. I know you feel the same way."

"Ujiyasu, you and I have disliked each other since the day we met." Kenshin corrected him.

"Exa... yeah, exactly!" Ujiyasu agreed, placing an arm around Kenshin. "And, you know, that immense hatred we both feel... that's the sign of true friendship..."

"Actually I just don't like you." Kenshin repeated, trying to get Ujiyasu's arm off him.

"You know Kenshin, you know... I want you... I want you to be the best man at my wedding." Ujiyasu declared, patting Kenshin's arm.

"Don't say it." Kenshin growled, knowing what was coming next.

"Because it would make me... just so happy knowing you would be my brother-in-law!"

"How did I know you were going to say that?" Kenshin deadpanned, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.

"Even if you are drunk, I won't let you think we're getting married." Aya snapped, looking disgusted by the thought.

"No, no... I'll pay for every expense!" Ujiyasu corrected her, "We don't need to elope... cost is no... object!" he said, finally going off of Kenshin and leaning onto Aya instead. She huffed, looking just as irritated as Keshin, but decided not to disturb him.

"Well... look on the bright side." Shingen stated, "At least he hasn't confused the two of you yet." he laughed.

Aya rolled her eyes. "Can we please just agree that he's thoroughly done in?" she asked.

"He still needs to..." Shingen's thoughts were interrupted as Ujiyasu sat up straight and vomited onto Kenshin's legs, before falling backwards into Aya's lap again. There was a long pause after this, everyone a bit in shock for various reasons to do anything.

"He's passed out now." Aya replied.

"But just to be sure..." Kenshin said, picking up an empty bottle and smashing it over Ujiyasu's head. When no reaction was given other than the beginning of loud snoring from the passed out Warlord, Kenshin sat back in his place.

"Alright, he's out." Kenshin confirmed.

"Wonderful." Aya said, none-too-gently pushing the man off of her, not minding that his head thudded against the table as she did.

"Well now, as it should be, it is down to you and I, Nemesis." Kenshin stated, turning towards Shingen. Only to find that the masked Warlord had fallen asleep leaning against the wall, joining Ujiyasu in a symphony of loud snoring. Kenshin and Aya looked at each other, then at the two Warlords that had passed out.

"So...the usual plan?" Aya asked, her smile returning to her face.

"You clean up, I'll take care of them." Kenshin agreed, getting up and waking over to Ujiyasu.

"Wait!" Aya said, "...Let me help you with Ujiyasu this time, dear."

Kenshin smirked. "As you wish, Sister." he agreed, turning to Shingen instead as Aya quickly began picking up the bottles and glasses so they could take Ujiyasu back to his room together.

* * *

I just read over this chapter a minute ago. You know, for the duration of the time I wrote all this out, none of it made me laugh. But when I was proofreading just now, I was laughing so much that now I have hiccups! Does this matter? Not really, but I just think it's interesting.

Oh, my. References, references. So many references in this chapter. I made a reference to the classic musical _Hello, Dolly__! _when Mitsubachi was telling Hanbei not to tell Mitsuhide about the mistletoe. That's a very nice little play/movie, and if anyone ever has the pleasure of seeing it on TV or a music hall, I highly recommend seeing it all the way through, because it's a wonderful little story, and the movie production featured a lot of big names from the time like Barbara Streisand and Louis Armstrong. The majority of what I did with the drinking scene took inspiration from a CollegeHumor youtube video called 'Your Six Drunk Personalities'. Watch the video for yourself, and you'll pick up on what's what. I don't drink, or have any friends that drink either (save for one, but she just turned 21, so she's legally able to and whatnot), so I had to find a template of sorts to walk me through that scene. I know there isn't a very high chance of people getting totally lit off of eggnog, but I figured that they mixed a decent amount of liquor in with it, as people will often do, so there you have it.

Moving on, I hope everyone, especially the ones who requested the scenes in this chapter to me, enjoyed what happened. To SuClover, I hope the HanbeixRyoko moment was enjoyable to you. I'm leaving almost every single pairing in this story up to interpretation, so don't expect Hanbei and Ryoko to end up in a relationship by the end of this, but I've decided to give them a scene or two more together in this story, so they'll still have plenty of cute interactions together, and if you want to interpret those moments as romantic, then I invite you to it. As for Imperator Justinian, I fully hope you enjoyed seeing your request(s) featured this chapter, and that they were funny and enjoyable reads for you as well. I added in Aya for a little bit of extra humor, I hope you don't mind. And according to my little checklist, your next request should be present in the next chapter if everything goes smoothly, which I don't see any reason why it shouldn't.

Now let's go from old requests to our newest requests:

**Imperator Justinian: **_N__ew request: _Explanation of where Nobunaga was throughout most of Conquest.  
Sidenotes: I had a pretty hard time thinking about where everyone should be sitting from Mitsuhide's standpoint, and near the end, I just put all of the leftover characters at one table together. Don't worry about the request not being Christmas themed; I can still do something with it. I assume when you say most of Conquest, you mean post-game, (again, I know I'm nitpicky about such silly details; I can't help it) so that shouldn't be too hard to come up with something. Keep reading, I think I can have that request done in the next chapter, like I said before. Thanks so much for the new request.

**Guest 5: **Kotaro spreading the chaos.  
Sidenotes: Kotaro is one of my favorite characters, mainly because of the dark-type connection. Dark and Ghost-types are my two favorites, so Kotaro was an instant like when I first played Conquest, and later Samurai Warriors. I've thought of doing something with Kotaro in this story, but I've been drawing a blank so far. Maybe your request will give me the extra kick to come up with something interesting and preferably non-lethal for the other characters. Keep reading; your request should be completed within the next two-to-three chapters if all goes well, and thank you for the review!

**Blaziken Critic: **RyokoxMitsunari scene (shopping for a present for Ryoko)  
Sidenotes: Thanks for the request. Not sure how pairing-centric I'll make it, but it'll definitely be a cute little read, so keep reading until it's done.

**Guest 6: **Snowball fight! (Gracia; Ranmaru; Aya; Mitsuhide vs. Kiyomasa; Masanori; Hideyoshi; Nene)  
Sidenotes: So happy to be doing a snowball request. Thanks for it! This will probably be done a few chapters from now, so please be patient, and continue to read while I get this wonderful idea done.

**SoraKaze: **_N__ew request: _Kotaro spreading the chaos.  
Sidenotes: I'm glad that you enjoyed what I did with your last review. Like I stated above, Kotaro is one of my favorite characters, and I was considering doing a scene with him in here already, but am not 100% on what I want to do just yet. I hope your request offers me some extra drive to come up with a great idea. Keep reading, and thanks for another great review!

All festive themed requests will be accepted. Some requests (excluding the mistletoe-related ones), may also be requested twice to be done in different chapters if you like as well. The more requests I receive, the more chapters I can do, and the longer the story can continue. Art requests will be accepted as well, but will take longer to complete. Non-festive requests may be transferred over to my other Pokémon Conquest fanfiction: Tales of Ransei. With that reminder put in place, I now go to take a nap!

**REVIEW IF YOU WANT NEW CHAPTER!**


	5. Ten Presents To Buy

Sorry I was so late on posting this new chapter, but I have a legitimate reason for not updating in over a week. Last week, my dad had taken the week off from work, and all last week I was spending time with him and the rest of my family, enjoying the holidays. My dad works nonstop most of the year, so it's really special whenever I can spend time with him like that. So I haven't forgotten about this, nor do I intend to stop writing it for this holiday season. I'll be trying my hardest from here until the end of the year to finish this in a reasonable amount of time.

Seeing as I want everyone to read the chapter that took me nearly a week to finish, I'll try to be brief about my author's notes. I know I have a tendency to rant, but I'll try to only say the necessities this time around. So to start, I want to let **Blue Egg** know that this is the chapter where your request will be done. I took a great deal of liberties with this one, and it's not to the letter of your initial request, but I hope it's still a good read for you, and that you enjoy the story for what it is. Also, another small bit of **Imperator Justinian's **latest request will be at the beginning, and I plan to finish that request in the next chapter, unless something else comes to mind and I completely get off course, which I doubt will happen. Also, as a note to everyone that reads, there may be a few typos in here, as I neglected to proofread in my haste to get this up as quickly as possible. Please be patient with me; I'm very sick at the moment, and just a little bit tired. I probably will be taking a nap after I post this.

Now, for my little checklist:

**Finished:**  
Gracia teaching Ranmaru how to skate (SoraKaze)  
HanbeixRyoko mistletoe scene (SuClover)  
Kenshin, Shingen and Ujiyasu having an eggnog drinking competition (Imperator Justinian)  
YukimuraxRyoko scene: out shopping together (Blue Egg)

**Requests to do ASAP:**  
Explanation of where Nobunaga was throughout most of Conquest (Imperator Justinian)  
Kotaro spreading the chaos (Requested twice by Guest 5 and SoraKaze, respectively)  
RyokoxMitsunari scene: shopping for a present for Ryoko (Blaziken Critic)  
Snowball fight! (Guest 6)  
Kanetsugu and Masamune under the mistletoe (Twilightcrystalflame)  
More HanbeixRyoko (Guest 7)  
How Kanbei was convinced to wear the elf hat (Guest 8)

**Requests to Complete Later (Probably in order):**  
GraciaxRanmaru mistletoe scene (Guest 1)  
Mitsuhide's reaction to GraciaxRanmaru mistletoe scene (Guest 2)  
KanetsuguxAya mistletoe scene (requested twice by B323Glaceon the Ice Queen4831 and SoraKaze, respectively)  
Kenshin's reaction to KanetsuguxAya mistletoe scene (SoraKaze)  
Nene having Ieyasu dress up as Santa, and sub sequentially Tadakatsu being his elf (Imperator Justinian and Guest 3, respectively)  
Secret Santas for everyone; Nobunaga, Hanbei and Ryoko asked for specifically so far. (Guest 2 and SuClover, respectively)  
RyoxOichi scene (Guest 4)  
These last ones will be completed this way for a reason; You'll see why when we get to that part of the story. :)

Really don't have anything of value to say until the end of the fic, so I'll cut this here, and see you all at the end of the chapter. Please enjoy; It'll give me some cheer to know that this was well worth the long wait.

* * *

Dinner that night was unsurprisingly eventful. Being that this was the second night of festivities, most of the Warlords had gathered in the dining hall together. At the moment, the only ones that were absent were Nobunaga, Shingen, Ujiyasu, and Kotaro. As he walked back to his seat with his food, Mitsuhide could also see that a few people were not sitting in their assigned seats. Once again, Mitsubachi had decided to sit next to Lady Aya, however when Kanetsugu came in, he was quick to correct this and lead her back to their seats, both of them looking annoyed with the other.

"I didn't hear her complaining." she said.

"I didn't see her try to stop me." he retorted.

She smirked. "It's because you're so adorable when you're jealous." she explained with a cutesy voice that caused her captor to blush deep scarlet.

Ina, Ryoko, Kai and Kunoichi were sitting together at one table, and it seemed that they were reserving some spots for other people. If Mitsuhide had to guess, they were for Oichi and Okuni. In hindsight, maybe he should have put the girls all at one table. They got along well with each other, save for Kai and Kunoichi's occasional bickering. Of course, what had really swayed his decision for seating had to do with the boys. Kanetsugu and Masamune couldn't be trusted to sit together without going at each other's throats, Neither Kunoichi nor Kai could sit next to Yukimura for obvious reasons, so he had to put the two at the same table. Hanbei and Mitsubachi were the only ones who would want to sit next to Kanbei, and only Mitsubachi would willingly sit next to Kotaro. There were a lot of factors that went into his decisions, and even now, the seating was still imperfect. Honestly, the way things were now was simply the way that offered the least amount of pain and potential death.

Everyone else appeared to be at their correct tables, though some had switched seats, and the rest were serving themselves before going back to their tables. The Pokemon were all present as well, save for Nobunaga's Hydreigon and Kotaro's Zoroark, who were probably with their respective Warlords. And Mitsuhide also noticed that Mitsubachi's Meowth wasn't laying on her head or in her lap, either. He went over to question her on this, and her reply was simply that he was taking a nap somewhere in the castle.

"He isn't _always _attached to me, you know." she added.

Finding nothing else out of the ordinary to scrutinize, Mitsuhide decided to go back to his seat, a few of the others at his table greeting him as he sat down.

"Mitsuhide, you wouldn't have happened to have seen Lord Nobunaga today, have you?" No asked, her voice suggesting that she wasn't expecting a response in the positive.

Mitsuhide thought back to the rest of his day up to this point, and could not recall ever seeing his former lord at any time. He shook his head. "I cannot say that I have." he responded, "Why?"

"Well, we were talking before you came in, and it seems like no one has seen him all day." Hideyoshi mentioned.

"No one that we have spoken to has told us otherwise." Ieyasu added, "It is rather strange."

Hideyoshi turned to Ieyasu. "To be honest, I was actually a bit surprised when I saw him at dinner last night." he stated, "I mean, none of us have heard from him ever since the Aurora Twins united Ransei. He hasn't been at parties, festivals, and even at the Warlord meetings every month, he's been sending Lady Oichi as a representative for him."

No leaned forward. "I heard from Ranmaru that even the servants and other warriors don't see much of him in Dragnor castle. He's been staying out of sight."

Ieyasu frowned. "Should we be worried?" he asked.

"For Lord Nobunaga?" No questioned, "Hardly. No one has made contact with him for this long, nor had any indication of his whereabouts, yet there he was in the flesh last night. I doubt that a single day by comparison should warrant our attention."

Hideyoshi frowned. "Hey, you were the one that brought it up." he mentioned.

"Has anyone heard any of the rumors going around these past months?" No asked with a smirk. "They're quite delightful, at least the whispers that I've heard, anyway."

"What whispers?" Mitsuhide asked, not liking the idea of gossip, especially coming from the woman who thrived on conflict.

"Regarding where exactly our Lord has been. My personal favorite is that he has been driven mad at having his claim to Ransei taken from him. Now, he wanders across the land, ruthlessly killing anyone in his path, taking revenge on the very kingdom that he failed to force under his will." No told them, a look of pleasure blatant on her face.

Hideyoshi and Nene jumped and hugged each other in fear, Ieyasu shivered, and everyone else had chills going up their spines. Mitsuhide scowled. "Would you kindly refrain from telling your horror stories at the dinner table!" he scolded her.

Calming down, Ieyasu decided to speak up. "Lord Nobunaga is a man of ruthless might, but he is _not _a cold-hearted murderer!" he corrected the dark beauty. "More likely than not, our Lord has decided to separate himself from his duties as a Warlord to find a new way forward now that his ambitions have been enacted by one more worthy to carry out his vision for the land.

No rolled her eyes. "How very poetic, Lord Ieyasu." she replied, "Very boringly practical." Ieyasu glowered.

Hideyoshi brought their attention to him. "Well, back in Ignis, people have been telling me that Lord Nobunaga's been living as a hermit, and travelling across the kingdoms selling scented candles and incense!"

This explanation was met by the fists of three angry former retainers, causing Hideyoshi to fall back in his seat and nurse the bumps forming on his head.

"If you're going to spout nonsense, at least come up with something more convincing than that!" Ieyasu declared.

"More to the point!" Mitsuhide stated, "What our Lord does is hardly any of our business. At one time we each put faith in him and his vision for the country. It is only now fitting that we put faith in his vision for himself, and the opposite of the way we do this is swapping stories about him behind his back! Now I suggest we end this discussion, and with it, the silliness." His response was met by silence from the other Warlords around him, most of them looking a bit ashamed, excluding No, who seemed annoyed more than anything.

"...I have been told that Lord Nobunaga had jumped from his castle to his death, and now wanders the earth as a restless spirit."

Everyone turned to see Motochika appear with a plate of food and sit down.

"...That's even worse than No's story!" Hideyoshi shouted, grabbing onto Nene again.

No scoffed. "That's only because I didn't tell you about the part where he wears his gloves to hide the unwashed blood of his victims on his hands."

"Enough!" Mitsuhide exclaimed anxiously.

Elsewhere in the dining hall, Ryoko got up from her table to go get seconds of the food. She was halfway to where the buffet table was set up, when she heard someone calling her from back at the tables.

"Ryoko!"

She turned around and noticed Yukimura coming towards her. She smiled and walked closer to him.

"Hey Yukimura! What's up?" she asked.

He smiled. "Well, I hope that I am not intruding, but I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you."

"Of course. What can I do?" she asked. Before responding, Yukimura quickly turned around to look back at their table, then turned back to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I was... hoping that you might like to accompany me out tomorrow." he told her, gesturing for them to start walking again. Realizing that he didn't want others to hear their conversation, Ryoko nodded and began to walk with him. Although, she did have to blush at what he was saying. Was he... asking her out on a date? In terms of boys, Ryoko had to say that there wasn't really anyone that she was 'in love' with, but she did have her small crushes like any girl would. Yukimura was a class example of this. It was really hard for any girl _not _to fall in love with him, given what a brave, handsome, talented gentleman he was.

Point in question: Kunoichi and Kai had both noticed Yukimura going over to talk to Ryoko, and were currently glaring at the private conversation that the two were having. They both seemed to be happy, which could only mean nothing good.

"What is he talking to her about?" Kai wondered, while Kunoichi watched on with trembling hands.

"I don't know, but I don't like it at all!" Kunoichi declared, lowering her head and trying to restrain the urge to go over there and drag one of them away from the other. Ina noticed the two staring off, and turned her attention to what they were looking at. Yukimura... talking to Ryoko. What was so interesting about that? They were just talking. Were they... maybe jealous of him talking to Ryoko? She knew that her two friends liked Yukimura. A while ago, they had all come out and admitted their mutual romantic interest in the same boy to each other. But... Ryoko, too? Just how many girls liked Yukimura? No, Ryoko probably didn't like him that way! What was she thinking, jumping to conclusions like that?! It was rude to Ryoko, as well as Yukimura! And Kai and Kunoichi should be ashamed of themselves for spying on them! ... But... looking back at the pair, she really couldn't blame them for being jealous. If she was honest, she was a bit jealous herself.

Kai also had to admit that she was a bit jealous of their friend, but didn't want to look like a huge idiot by jumping to conclusions like that. "Calm down, ninja girl." she said, trying to reason out what was happening. "It's not like they're holding hands or anything."

As if on cue, Yukimura reached over and put a hand on Ryoko's shoulder, causing her to blush. Kai and Kunoichi gasped in shock at the contact, and watched with grief as Yukimura led Ryoko towards the buffet table. Kai lowered her gaze and started smoking with anger.

"I, can't, _believe _her!" she seethed, fire burning in her eyes. "Who does she think she is, getting Yukimura all to herself like that?!"

"I'm not just gonna sit here and take this!" Kunoichi declared, "I'm finding out right now just what he thinks he's doing with another girl like that!" In a flash, Kunoichi had disappeared without a trace, quickly moving towards her target with her most impeccable ninja skills.

"Hey! Wait for me; I'm not being left out of this!" Kai yelled, getting up and running after the ninja. When the two left, Ina looked to where they had run off to, looking incredibly worried.

"Just what are they planning on doing?" she wondered, hoping that they wouldn't cause a scene.

"Oh, my!" Okuni giggled, "This is going to be quite a mess, I think."

"That's what I'm worried about." Ina replied, moving to stand. "...Perhaps I should try to go after them..."

"Don't worry yourself about them." Okuni said, "Remember, they don't want to embarrass themselves in front of Lord Yukimura, so they won't try anything to hurt themselves."

Ina considered this, and relaxed back into place. "I suppose that is true." she agreed, looking a bit relieved. She knew how much Kai cared about her reputation and appearance, and how Kunoichi didn't like being embarrassed in front of Yukimura.

Okuni nodded, and turned back to Yukimura and Ryoko. "Let's just watch the show, shall we?"

Back with the two jealous females, Kunoichi had gone into complete stealth mode, creeping around Yukimura and Ryoko and hiding herself in the shadows under the banquet table. Kai, while clumsily going around the other guests, had snuck over to the target location as well, and hid herself behind Lord Ujiyasu's Gigalith, which was standing right next to the buffet table. It noticed her standing behind it, but didn't pay any attention to her, used to the girl's presence enough that it wasn't unsettling. She crouched down to further conceal herself, and when she did, she locked eyes with Kunoichi, and the two jumped upon noticing the other next to them.

"_What are you doing here_?" Kunoichi whispered angrily, but Kai merely shushed her with a finger to her mouth, and pointed back to the two they were spying on. She then held a hand up to her ear, indicating for them to listen. Kunoichi sighed, and conceded to do what they were over here to do in the first place: eavesdrop.

"When do you think you could go tomorrow?" Yukimura asked.

"How about we head out early in the morning after breakfast?" Ryoko suggested, "If we leave then, it might not be as hard for the two of us to get away from the castle."

"Yes, that would be best." he agreed, "I hate to ask this of you, Ryoko, but like I said..."

"Don't worry, my lips are sealed." she promised, "Besides, I'm happy to be doing this with you."

"I'm glad. I shall meet you tomorrow in the dining hall, and then we can leave after we eat."

"Great. It's a date, then!" Ryoko said excitedly, causing Yukimura to laugh, and two individuals' jaws to drop to the floor. "I'll see you tomorrow, Yukimura!"

"I'm already looking forward to it." he replied, before the two parted ways, with Yukimura returning to his seat, and Ryoko proceeding to take more food for her plate.

Once Ryoko had gone back to the table, Kai and Kunoichi snuck out of the hall, and into a vacant room nearby. Checking to see that no one was around to hear them, they looked at each other, and broke out into a flurry of mad rantings, with each one trying to out-shout the other.

"A _date_?!" Kai screeched, beginning to pace around the small room to vent her anger. "He asked _her _on a date! I can't believe this! I've known him longer than she has! What makes _her _so special?! Just because she's a Warlord, and just because she's so nice, and fun, and smart, and energetic, and cute...!"

"Why, Yukimura, _whyyyyyyy_?!" Kunoichi bawled, "Why did you have to pick Ryoko?! At least I had a chance against Kai, but how can I compete with Ryoko?!"

"Hey!" Kai snapped, "What makes you think for a second Yukimura would have picked you over me?!" she hollered.

"Other than the fact that any man would pick beauty over the beast... oh, I can't do this right now! I'm too upset!" she stated, tossing her hands in the air before crumpling down and sobbing again.

After that, Ina came in and closed the door behind her. She looked between the two and proceeded to place her hands on her hips and frown at them.

"Well, I just told Ryoko that the reason you two aren't at the table was because you had to use the bathroom. You both owe me; I hated lying to her like that." she scolded the two.

"She doesn't deserve the truth!" Kai exclaimed, "I suppose she didn't tell you that she has a date with Yukimura tomorrow, now did she?!"

Ina's eyes widened for a minute, but her shock quickly faded. "Well, that can't be true." Ina stated, "Because she just told me that Yukimura had invited her to go shopping with him in the village tomorrow."

"And did she say that he invited anyone else?" Kai prodded.

"No. Actually, she mentioned that he only wanted to go with her."

Kai smacked her forehead in irritation. "Ina... that _is _a date!" Kai explained, not for the first time finding it hard to believe how sheltered a life their friend had lead.

"Oh." Ina said, before her face reverted back to a look of shock. "Oh!" she exclaimed as she realized the situation fully.

Kai rolled her eyes. "Sometimes, I can't believe that I envy you." she admitted.

"Well..." Ina began, "if... that is how it is, then I suppose we ought to support Ryoko and-"

"Are you kidding me?!" Kai roared, "We're doing nothing of the sort! I don't know about you and miss Gloom and Houndoom," she pointed to the still sulking Kunoichi. "but _I'm _not just gonna take this sitting down! If Ryoko has a date with Yukimura, then I'm gonna do something about it!"

Kunoichi looked up at that, and stood by Kai, assuming a fighting stance. "Me, too! As a ninja, I'm not gonna be beat out until I know just why Lord Yukimura chose her over me! I say we do this!"

"Yeah!"

Ina looked between the two, blinking in confusion. "And just what do you two intend to do about it? If Yukimura likes her, then you can't force him to feel differently, and the same can be said for Ryoko."

"I said 'let's do something'. I never said 'what'." Kai stated, "So let's get to work on planning."

Ina frowned. "Out of the question! I'll have no part in this!"

Kunoichi scowled, "What?! You're not gonna help us?"

"As the daughter of Tadakatsu, and retainer for Lord Ieyasu, I must display a warrior's honor at all times! This dictates that I must show loyalty to my friends at all times, as well as honesty, humility, and good will." Ina declared proudly, "As a result of these conditions, I am obligated to stand by Ryoko as a friend and offer my fondest wishes for she and Lord Yukimura!"

"Drop the goody two-shoes act. We're your friends too, ya know. Show some of that loyalty to us!" Kai responded.

"I will... by not telling Ryoko about any of this, and placing my trust in the belief that you two will realize the errors of your petty jealousy and follow in my place." Ina replied, before turning around and leaving the room, closing the door once again behind her.

Kai and Kunoichi shared glances once she had left, each raising an eyebrow.

"You wanna follow them tomorrow, or give your 'fondest wishes'?" Kunoichi asked with a smirk, which Kai immediately shared with her.

"Oh, definitely following." she replied.

When they finally decided to go back to the banquet hall and join up with their friends again, they noticed some yelling coming from there.

"Nice, My Lady! Honestly, I _really _appreciate the level of maturity right here!"

"What do you think that's all about?" Kunoichi wondered.

"I dunno, but it sounds like the old man does whenever he gets a hangover." Kai deadpanned, crossing her arms with a sour expression.

They made out Lady Aya's voice as they got closer, as well as some muffled laughter from a few individuals. "Whatever do you imply, my lord?" Aya inquired, while several whoops of laughter from several of the Warlords could be heard from inside. Wait... had they just heard... Lord Kenshin _laughing_?! What poor baby Pokemon had just _died_?!

"Don't try to be sly! You pull this on me every year! The least you could do is come up with something inventive!" Ujiyasu continued to shout over the cackles.

"Well, I do recall this happening quite often at the Christmas parties..." Aya admitted, "However, I believe the hat is new. It looks comfortable."

"It's _stuck to my head_!"

"Perhaps a smidgen of occasional humility would reduce the swelling."

"You know that's not the reason!" Ujiyasu snapped.

"What's going on in here? We can hear you shouting down the hall!" Kai stated as they walked in. "Just what the heck kind of trouble are you starting this time, old maHAHAHAAHAHAHHA!" Kai's scolding was reduced to rib-cracking laughs as Ujiyasu turned to her and Kunoichi, revealing that his face was entirely covered in ink marking, including kitty whiskers on his cheeks, long eyelashes around his eyes, a swirling smile at the corners of his lips, eyeballs on the lids of his eyes, a black-and-white rainbow going over the bridge of his nose, and the word, 'Moron' written over the expanse of his forehead. On his head was a huge, ridiculous looking pirate hat that had the words 'Captain Jackass' on it that were clearly sewn on. Judging by how stupidly hilarious the hat was, it was obvious that it had to be stuck to his head, otherwise he wouldn't be seen dead in it. Kai and Kunoichi fell onto the floor, unable to stay standing because of how hard they were laughing. Ujiyasu glared down at them.

"Ah-ah-ah-hahahaahahaa! It-it _hurts_! It hu-aahahahaha!" Kai snorted out, not able to form any words past this. Tears were beginning to form at the corners of her eyes. Kunoichi was in a similar state, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

"Tha-that's a good look for you, my lord!" she got out before going back to laughing.

Ujiyasu rolled his eyes and scowled away from the two, attempting to cover up his embarrassment with anger, "That's right; keep laughing! Everybody laugh! Just don't think that I won't remember!" he threatened, "Especially you, kid!" he said, pointing to Kai. "I'm giving you _hell _for this later!"

"Too late!" she cackled back, "You're already _laughing _me to death!" she wailed.

Aya giggled, bringing Ujiyasu's attention back to her. "Your charge appears to take pleasure out of your humiliation." she stated, "Perhaps you may take some solace in that."

Ujiyasu turned back to face her, towering over her. Unfortunately, he didn't have the element of intimidation with him at the moment. "_You _are gonna get all of this off me before I decide to mess up that pretty little face of yours, girly!" he demanded, "And you can just stuff a cork in it, Kenshin!" he snapped as he turned back to the still hysterically laughing Warlord.

Aya shook her head. "Do you really think I'd ever do anything permanent?" she wondered, "I'm a bit upset that you think so little of me. Everything will come off with enough soap and water. There will still be some marks, but they will fade away after a day or two."

"You better hope they do!" Ujiyasu stated, before taking his seat next to her, "Kai, go make me a plate! And bring some _sake_, too!" he ordered.

Aya looked at him with a raised brow. "You're not going to ask me to help you wash all that off?" Aya asked, hinting at the double meaning behind the words. "I thought I had left that one relatively open for you."

Ujiyasu turned to glare at her. "That's how pissed I am at you! I can't even think of saying anything like that. Right now, if you actually agreed to get into a bath with me, all I'd wanna do is drown you." he stated, before turning back to her still laughing brother, "Shut up, Kenshin!"

**~The Next Day...~**

After waking up early and meeting each other at breakfast, Ryoko and Yukimura dressed up in their winter wear and quickly headed for the front gates to leave the castle. They were being accompanied by Yukimura's Pignite and Yuki. Charizard was not going to be flying them into the village because he was still sleeping, and had refused to get up when Yukimura had asked, so the small group would be going on foot.

"So where would you like to go first?" Ryoko asked as they began to walk out.

Yukimura looked at her, slightly perplexed, "You mean that you want to leave now?" he asked, looking down at her. "But... don't you have anything warmer to wear? It will be cold out there, and we have a ways to walk."

Ryoko looked herself over as well. She was wearing the warmest clothes she owned at the moment, and a heavy pale pink coat to go with it. Though she had decided not to bring gloves, a hat or a scarf with her. Meanwhile, she noticed that Yukimura had completely bundled himself up in a full red winter coat, black hat, gloves, and scarf ensemble. His Pignite sported a warm scarf around its neck as well, and a hat to match.

"Oh, no. I'll be fine." she assured him with a smile, waving her hand dismissively. "It's not _that _far into town, and I don't have a problem with the cold at all!"

Yukimura still didn't look satisfied with that answer. "Are you sure? I do not mind waiting if you wish to find a pair of gloves for yourself." he replied. Ryoko only shook her head.

"_Really, _I'll be just fine." she repeated, before grabbing his hand and leading him towards the door again. "Now come on! You said you wanted to leave as soon as possible, and if we wait too long, we won't be able to leave 'as soon as possible'!" Not knowing what else to do, the older boy allowed her to drag him towards the door and out into the cold.

"Now tell me where you wanna go." Ryoko said as they left.

"Anywhere you want to go is fine." he replied, "I honestly trust your judgment better than my own at the moment."

Once the pair and their Pokemon had left and the doors had closed behind them, Kai and Kunoichi poked their heads around a corner, glaring at the door the others had just left through. They were also dressed to leave the castle, namely to follow Yukimura and Ryoko into the village. Beside them were Sneasel and Darumaka.

"It looks like they're heading out to the village now." Kai stated.

"Yeah, I could've guessed that." Kunoichi retorted, "What now?"

"If we leave now, they might see us." Kai thought out loud, "So we should give them a small head start, just to make sure they won't see us following them."

"Aha! I knew the two of you were up to something!" The two girls jumped and spun around to the sound of a third voice behind them. They came face-to-face with Ina and her Piplup, who both were shooting reprimanding glares at the two with their arms crossed.

Kai put a hand to her chest and sighed. "Oh, Ina. Thank goodness; I thought we were actually in trouble for a second." she sighed in relief, causing Ina's face to turn pink in embarrassment.

"You _are _in trouble!" she corrected angrily, "The two of you should be _ashamed _of yourselves for this foolish behavior! Spying on people of all things; it's entirely dishonorable to your names as well as your kingdoms! What's worse, this is a complete invasion of Lord Yukimura's privacy, not to mention Ryoko's! Have you no respect for your own friends?!"

"Oh, thank you so much, mommy!" Kunoichi simpered sweetly, as she turned her face to an overdramatic pout directed at Ina. "You have shown us the error of our ways. We promise to behave from now on."

Ina's scowl deepened. "I'm being serious, Kunoichi! They're your friends, aren't they?"

"Of course they're our friends." Kai responded, before turning back to the doorway, "And as friends, it is our duty to follow them every step of their date and find out what it is they're doing at every minute."

"I'm entirely certain that's not what good friends do." Ina stated.

"Hey, I never said anything about being a 'good' friend." Kai remarked, "Anyway, we can't waste any time, Ina, so run along and just let us do our own thing. Come on, Kunoichi."

"Right behind you!" Kunoichi declared as the two began to leave through the doorway. "Later, Ina!"

"I can't believe you... hold it right there!" she continued her attempts to sway them, but to no avail. The two had taken off, leaving an incredibly flustered Ina in their wake.

Back with Yukimura and Ryoko, the two were about ten minutes into their trek through the snow, with their Pokemon helping them to maneuver through the near-entirely frozen path down to the village. As they continued, Ryoko began to shiver, and wrapped her arms around herself. Yukimura noticed the sound of her teeth chattering together and looked over at her, noticing her shivering. He chuckled to himself.

"Are you cold?" he asked humorously. She looked away as her already red cheeks turned redder.

"N-no, it's fine, really. We're, like, halfway to the village, so I can manage until then." she responded, trying not to sound like she was having second thoughts about taking only her jacket with her. She really didn't like admitting when she was wrong, even if no one would penalize her for it, it still made her feel like a loser.

Yukimura laughed again. "We're barely a third of the way to the village, Ryoko." he told her, causing the extra color to drain from her face.

"I can't believe this!" Kai mumbled as she watched the two behind a rock while her travelling companions were sneaking over to her. "She has him wrapped around her finger!" Kunoichi came up next to her and smiled cheerfully. Kai turned to look at her. "Well, it took ya long enough to catch up to me." she remarked, "What, did your legs freeze or something?"

Kunoichi shook her head. "Actually, I've never been warmer!" she beamed, "These hot stones you gave me to put under my jacket really _do _work! Where did you say you got these again?"

Kai turned back to their targets, looking uninterested. "I got them from Darumaka. It's no big deal, he leaves them around all the time."

Kunoichi tilted her head. "So, what are they, anyway? Stones? Coal?"

"Uh... yeah. Let's go with that last one." Kai agreed, turning back as she noticed Ina trudging up to them through the snow, looking irritated as usual. "If you're gonna tag along, Ina, maybe you should try to actually keep up."

Ina glowered. "I'm _not _tagging along! I'm here to bring you back to the castle!"

"If we didn't listen to you the first twenty times, what makes you think we'll listen now?" Kunoichi asked rhetorically.

Ina sighed. "Because it would be the correct thing to do, and your conscience shall avert you from taking another step."

Kai shot a teasing smirk towards Kunoichi. "You haven't figured it out, Kunoichi? She's just trying to use this goody-goody front of hers so she won't feel guilty for spying on them herself." she explained, causing their dark-haired friend's face to go completely red.

"Th-th-that is not so!" Ina protested, "I am simply accompanying you so that I can prevent you from inevitable trouble!"

Kunoichi snickered, and she and Kai turned back to Yukimura. "Yeah, right." she stated with much sarcasm. As the two looked back at the pair, their eyes widened and they each let out a shocked squeak as Yukimura leaned over and wrapped an arm around Ryoko.

"Hey!" Ryoko exclaimed in surprise.

"I apologize, Ryoko," Yukimura said, glancing down at her with a kindly smile. "but you need to stay warm somehow." He began rubbing her arm, hoping to heat her up a bit. Some color rushed to Ryoko's cheeks, but she was able to get past her embarrassment so that she could return Yukimura's smile.

"Thanks, Yukimura." she mumbled sheepishly. "I'll remember to wear gloves next time, I promise."

"And?" Yukimura asked.

"...And a hat, too."

"Aaaaaannnd?" he pressed on, his smile turning into a smirk, putting some more pressure on her arm, causing her to giggle.

"...And a... scarf." she finished, pouting to herself at his playful patronizing.

"Good." he nodded, pleased at her cooperation. "Now for the meantime, stay close to me. I wouldn't want you catching a cold out here." he paused, thinking for a moment. "Why don't we go get ourselves some hot chocolate first? We can go shopping afterwards."

Ryoko smiled excitedly, loving the idea. "Would that be okay?" she asked. He laughed at her eagerness.

"Of course. I wouldn't want our _entire _time out to be just shopping. We might as well enjoy ourselves, too." Ryoko needed no further persuasion after this, and nodded in agreement.

"Sounds good!"

"Yukimura~!"

Ryoko stopped and looked back behind them, curious as to where that noise had come from just now. She thought it had sounded like someone screaming something, but she couldn't make out what it had been. Yukimura noticed her stop, and raised a curious eyebrow towards her. "Is something wrong, Ryoko?" he asked.

"Uh..." Ryoko muttered, "I... could have sworn I heard someone crying out just now."

Yukimura turned to look at where she was staring, but all either one could see was an empty landscape of nothing but snow, ice, and the occasional odd tree or rock. There weren't even any Pokemon that could be seen.

"...Did it sound like they were in trouble?" Yukimura asked, danger being the first thing that came to his mind. Ryoko shook her head.

"No, it sounded more like they were angry or upset about something." she explained. The two looked around once more, trying to find any indication of life, but could see nothing around them. Yukimura eventually shrugged, and turned back to her.

"It might have just been the wind..." he suggested, "I really can't see anything else that could be screaming out here."

"Yeah... I guess that must be it." Ryoko decided, before turning back around. The two carried on their way, the moment quickly tossed out of their minds.

"Sorry about that." she apologized.

"Don't worry about it." he replied.

After the two had gone a considerable distance away from the hiding place of their stalkers, Ina, peeked her head out from behind the rock, and noticed the two had continued on their way. Sighing with relief, she decided to take her hands away Kunoichi and Kai's mouths, and allow them to breathe again. As her two troublemaking friends were regaining the air back into their lungs, Ina glared at them again, crossing her arms.

"I'll just add that to the 'you owe me list', shall I?" she asked.

"Save it, Ina." Kai gasped once she was able to breathe normally. "Come on, we've got to go after them!" she said, getting to her feet and running over to the next closest hiding spot. Ina sighed, and moved to follow her, until she felt the force of something hit the back of her head and explode in a wave of cold and wet. She turned round to find Kunoichi walking around her with white-dusted hands, looking at her with a mischievous glower.

"That's for almost suffocating me!" she huffed before running over to where Kai had went.

When Yukimura and Ryoko made it into the village, they found a cozy building that sold hot chocolate, and went inside to order two cups for themselves. Outside, the three stalkers stood on the opposite side of the road, glancing at the restaurant as they planned their next move.

"Well, if we go in there to hear what they're saying, they're gonna see us." Kunoichi stated. Kai turned to glare at her.

"I know that!" she barked, looking back at the building. "We'll just have to wait out here for now until they come back out!"

Ina looked at her skeptically and shivered, clutching Piplup closer to her chest. "You intend to stay out here until they leave?" she queried, "Aren't people going to think it's a bit... odd that we're just standing out in the cold like this?"

Kai slouched in place. "Ugh. Guess you're right."

Kunoichi frowned. "So, wait. You don't have a plan? Ugh, why am I not surprised?"

"I think things up as I go! That's the way of a true warrior!" Kai declared, before shaking her head, "Alright, _here's _the real plan: Kunoichi, you'll need to watch and wait for them to leave the restaurant, while, Ina and I split up to opposite sides of the village. When they leave, Kunoichi will send Sneasel to the location of the one closest to where they're headed, and lead us back to where Kunoichi is. That way, it'll be harder for them to notice us, and we'll be able to spy on them with maximum efficiency!"

Ina frowned. "I keep telling you, _I'm _not spying!" she yelled.

"And that's just seems like too much effort just to follow them around." Kunoichi said, placing her hands on her hips. Kai mimicked her pose.

"Well, if you didn't want to put in any effort then you should have thought about that before you decided to do this!" Kai protested.

"I was thinking that I'd pull some pranks on Ryoko or something." Kunoichi said, "I didn't think you'd just be making me do all of this tedious stuff."

Kai rolled her eyes. "I don't wanna get back at her! I just wanna see what she does with Yukimura!

"Well, I wanna embarrass her! That's what I always do to girls who get close to Yukimura. Like the time I stuck a bunch of Joltik webs into your hairbrush while you were sleeping over that one time."

"That was _YOU_?!" Kai screamed, "You little brat! I spent hours getting all of that out of my hair, and it wouldn't sit right for days after!"

Kunoichi produced a satisfied smirk at making the other girl angry. "I don't think that was nearly as good as when I used the ol' butter bomb prank on you!" she snorted.

"_**Kunoichi**_!" Kai ground out through clenched teeth.

Ina turned to Kunoichi confused. "'Butter bomb prank'?" she asked.

"Fill a small bag up with butter and drop it on an unsuspecting victim from above!" Kunoichi explained cheerfully, "It's the classics that have the best results, I think. And was she _mad_ when that thing fell on top of her!"

"I'm going to get you, Kunoichi!" Kai declared, and she quickly took off after the madly giggling ninja girl. Ina stared after them for a moment, before deciding to go and keep them from tearing each other apart. She sighed, accepting her fate as mediator, offering one final look back at where Yukimura and Ryoko were. She only gave them a moment's thought, before running after the other two girls. Not five minutes after the trio had left, Ryoko and Yukimura exited the building with two cups of hot chocolate in their hands, and looked around the busy market of the village.

"Well, lead the way." Yukimura said with a smile, gesturing for her to walk ahead. Ryoko returned the smile, and took his hand so she was able to pull him towards their first destination.

"I think over this way would be the best place to start." she said, and they began their walk through the marketplace. They spent well over an hour going between the different shops in the village, looking at literally everything that could be seen. Every time they moved on to a new store, Ryoko was quick to point things out to him, and he had to keep her from getting too excited by practically every item they saw. Not an easy task when the person you're with has such a passion for everything, he decided, but he had to admire that about Ryoko. There were very few people he knew that had so much zest for life. Normally, he dreaded shopping, but with Ryoko, it was becoming a very fun experience. She frequently got distracted by starting up random conversations with the merchants and other customers, and he would often need to remind her that they still needed to find things to buy to get her to break off the conversation. At one point, they had literally run into a snowball fight that a group of little kids were playing, and Ryoko had decided to take a side and join in the battle, encouraging him to do the same. Yukimura had tried to protest, saying quite plainly that he was too old for such games, but Ryoko eventually convinced him to take the opposite team's side, and they began to do battle, with their Pokemon assisting them, which the kids especially loved. They got out of the snowball fight later, and some of the parents who had been watching thanked them for playing with their children before they headed back to their homes.

"Ha, that was great!" Ryoko exclaimed, "I haven't been a part of a snowball fight since last year!"

"Hah, it's been much longer than that for me." Yukimura responded, "I suppose... it was fun."

"Aw, you know it was." she stated, "I saw you laughing with those kids. By the way, they loved you and Pignite." She looked down at their Pokemon, who each gave happy squeals at the recognition.

He nodded slowly. "Yes, it was fun." he conceded, "We really should focus back on the shopping, though. I think I have a few ideas now of what I want to get."

Ryoko smiled. "Great! Then why don't _you _lead the way this time?" she offered.

"Uh, alright." he agreed, "Well, first, I saw something at that shop over there that I need to get." he said, pointing in the direction of the shop.

"Okay, then let's head over there now!" she said, taking his hand and pulling him forward again.

"I thought you said you wanted me to lead now." Yukimura stated.

While the two were walking towards their next stop, Kai and Kunoichi poked their heads around the corner of another shop, and noticed the two walking hand-in-hand once again. The girls were both covered in a light coat of snow on their heads and shoulders.

"Finally, we've caught up to them again." Kai gasped, brushing snow off of her shoulders, "I thought we'd lose them after those bratty kids started throwing snowballs at us."

"It's a good thing Ina _did _decide to follow us after all." Kunoichi stated, shaking her head of the white powder. "She's a lot better with kids than the two of us are."

At that moment, Ina caught up to the two. Kai turned to greet her.

"Good, you're alive."

Ina rolled her eyes. "They were only children; I don't see what you two were so worked up about. They adored Piplup." she replied, pointing to her Pokemon, happily tottering over with a ponigiri one of the little girls had gotten for it in its beak.

"They also adored using us as target practice." Kunoichi retorted. "Where do they get off thinking it's okay to throw things at strangers?"

"Oh, please!" Kai snapped, "The second I got a snowball to the head, you decided that all bets were off, and started pelting me nonstop!"

Kunoichi smirked. "That was you? I thought you were the abominable snowman!"

"You-!" Kai growled.

"Do you two even remember why you're here?" Ina wondered, hoping that they had indeed forgotten so that they could go home.

"Of course we do!" They shouted in unison, turning back to Yukimura and Ryoko.

"Ugh. You are both wasting your time, not to mention mine." Ina repeated for the twelfth time that day (and yes, that was an exact number. She had personally counted.). "What has any of this actually accomplished for either of you?"

Kai suddenly gasped. "He just bought Ryoko a pair of gloves!" she declared. Ina glanced in their direction, and noticed that Yukimura was offering a pair of newly bought gloves to Ryoko, who took them before hugging Yukimura around the neck, which he happily returned. Seconds later, they broke the hug and Ryoko quickly put on the new gloves, along with a matching hat and scarf.

"He bought her a hat, too?!" Kunoichi cried, falling to her knees. "Yukimura never buys me anything like that!"

"Are you serious?!" Ina exclaimed in disbelief, "He bought you the very scarf you're wearing now for your birthday!"

"But he didn't buy it with _love_!" Kunoichi sobbed.

"You two are really very sad." Ina stated, "Listen, he bought her gloves and a hat because she didn't have any of her own to wear. It doesn't mean anything." she tried to reason.

"They're moving again!" Kai declared, grabbing hold of the two by their wrists. "Come on; let's go!"

"I don't want any further part in this!" Ina said, trying to pull out of Kai's grasp, having little success.

"Too bad; let's go!" Kai replied, before she pulled them off to a closer hiding place.

Yukimura and Ryoko went to a few other stores, purchasing assorted goods from each. Their stalkers couldn't see some of the items purchased, however, due to the fact that they still needed to remain in hiding and couldn't always find a place with a good vantage point. But after they left each shop, the three girls were able to walk over and see what the stores wares were. The first store they stopped at had been a jewelry shop.

"I don't believe it!" Kai roared, "He bought her jewelry!"

The second shop sold exclusively shoes.

"He bought her new shoes, too!" Kunoichi cried.

Another two shops sold various weapons and weapon care products.

"I suppose you're going to say he bought her sword polish, too?" Ina asked with plenty of sarcasm.

"Well, she does own a katana." Kunoichi reasoned.

"Would any of you young ladies be interested in any of our merchandise?" the shopkeeper asked as they looked over the items.

"Yes, would you happen to sell anything that could knock out two people at one?" Ina asked.

The final shop that Yukimura and Ryoko went to was one for Pokemon products, and they bought up a large quantity of items, as well as two ponigiri for their Pokemon.

"Don't even try to justify that." Ina remarked to her two companions.

"Okay, okay, so maybe not _everything _he's buying is for her!" Kai spat back, "But you can't tell me that whatever he bought at the jewelry store wasn't for her!"

"You two are being ridiculous!" Ina said again.

Yukimura turned to Ryoko as they walked away from the Pokemon shop. "I think that's the last of it." He said, "We should head back now."

"Are you sure you're not forgetting anything?" Ryoko asked.

"I'm sure I can find some wrapping paper back at the castle." he stated, "For now, I'd prefer to go back home. Strange as it sounds, I keep feeling as though I was being watched the whole time we have been here."

Ryoko giggled at this idea. "Well, I wouldn't be surprised." she replied, "I mean, you _are _one of Terrera's famous Warlords. I kept feeling like people were staring at me, too, on account of me being Aurora's leader and all."

Yukimura chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, I suppose that might be it." he conceded, "I do get quite a bit of attention back home, too."

Ryoko playfully nudged him. "It's because you're so cute." she joked, causing him to look at her confused.

"Cute? Me?" he asked. She chuckled.

"Oh, come on!" she said, "Don't look so upset about it."

"It... just feels strange to think that I can be considered... cute." he commented, causing his Pignite to start laughing.

"You think so, too?" Yukimura asked in surprise, to which Pignite only replied with further chortling.

"Would you prefer 'handsome' instead?" Ryoko suggested, causing Yukimura to blush and look away from her.

"It's basically the same thing." he stuttered out, "You... think I'm cute, though?"

"Sure." she said plainly, "That's not awkward or anything, is it?"

"N-no; not at all!" he blurted quickly, not sure whether or not he was being honest. He just didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable about it.

"I mean, if you thought I was cute, I'd be okay with you telling me." she said.

"You would?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yeah; it's good to be honest with yourself, you know?" she explained, "People are usually so worried about saying something wrong, but if you say it with the best intentions, then there's nothing to feel bad about. Like: ask me a question right now. A really awkward question, and I'll answer it."

"Uh, I don't think that's polite..." Yukimura protested.

"Forget about it." Ryoko gently pushed him. "I won't hold it against you, I promise. Just ask something weird."

"Well... If you insist." he agreed, "Um... well... uh... What... do you... what do you and the others girls actually _do _when you have girls' nights?"

Ryoko giggled. "Wow; actually really good question, Yukimura." she said, "For a second, I thought you might ask me something like if I prefer salt or pepper." she laughed, before shaking her head. "Well, we normally go out to a restaurant, go shopping, depending where we decide to meet up each week, Kunoichi and Kai will get into a fight," she paused her story as Yukimura started laughing, probably at hearing something so typical of their two friends, "Sometimes Ginchiyo will complain about wasting her time, but we all know she totally wants to be with us. And we talk about what we've been doing and complain about people, and talk about boys."

Yukimura flinched. "Boys? As in, _us boys_?"

Ryoko tilted her head. "You mean like you and Kanetsugu and Masamune, right?" he nodded. "Of course. I kind of assumed you talk about us, too."

"Well, not really..." Yukimura stated, "Magoichi will, but no one else really contributes, except when beating him up for it." Ryoko laughed. Yukimura looked at her nervously. "Has... anyone ever said anything interesting about me? Maybe Kunoichi?"

Ryoko put a finger to her lips. "Sorry, Yukimura. I can't give out any specifics; I've made a vow of silence before my honor as a friend." she stated.

His shoulders slouched. "Alright; I can respect that." he said, having made plenty of those himself.

"Don't worry; if someone ever _does _say anything bad, they don't really mean it. It's just blowing off steam. Like, Kai will usually start complaining about Lord Ujiyasu, or Ginchiyo will be talking about how Muneshige gets under her skin. It's just talk." She smiled, and he returned it.

"Well... I suppose that would be the point of having a night all to yourselves." he thought, "I have to say, Ryoko, I've never met anyone... quite so comfortable with being themselves as you are. You don't seem to have any inhibitions with being honest."

"There's no reason to be any other way." she said cheerfully, "There's nothing wrong with secrets, but I really don't have anything worth keeping hidden, so I don't."

Yukimura smirked. "But you _are_ planning on keeping this shopping date a secret for me, right?" he asked. Ryoko giggled.

"Of course I am." she agreed, "It's not like you want me to take this to my grave or anything. I only have to not say anything until Christmas Day, and that's only six days away. Speaking of which, I can help you wrap what you bought if you like."

"I'd appreciate that, and I appreciate you coming out to help me with this."

"Not at all; I had a lot of fun being with you." she said honestly.

He scratched the back of his head again, looking incredibly sheepish. "I've... never been particularly good at shopping for gifts, so I'm glad I had you to help me figure out what to buy."

Ryoko wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Forget about it." she told him, "It's not like this was an inconvenience for me. I even got an early Christmas present out of it." she held up her free, fully gloved hand. "I really appreciate that; you didn't have to buy me anything."

"I wanted to." he stated. "To thank you, and because I needed to buy you a present anyway. I'm just glad I was able to get you something you really needed."

"Geez. Now you've got me worried that I didn't get you a good enough present." she muttered.

His eyes widened. "You got me a gift?" he asked, rather surprised. She chuckled.

"Why do you look so surprised? We're friends, after all." she stated.

"Y-yes... we are." he agreed, deciding to wrap an arm over her shoulders as well. "So... does that mean that I can open my present when we get back, seeing as you got yours early."

Ryoko shook her head. "Sorry, Yukimura, you'll just have to wait until Christmas morning to see." she giggled sneakily.

"Well, can I at least get a hint on what it is?" he asked, looking like a little boy who couldn't wait to have dessert after dinner.

"It's in a box, and wrapped in red paper." she told him.

"That doesn't help at all!" he complained, causing her a fit of giggles. "You wouldn't happen to be my Secret Santa this year, would you?"

"Even if I was, I wouldn't tell you." she responded, "And no, I'm not. I'll tell you who I got on Christmas Eve, right before we open up the Secret Santa gifts. One hint, just so you don't still think that it's you: I'm Secret Santa for another one of the girls."

"You should at least tell me that!" Yukimura protested, "You know who I'm Secret Santa for!"

Ryoko grinned. "That's what you get for not getting your shopping done early." she sung out, picking on him a little.

He groaned. "You remind me a little of Kunoichi at times." he said.

They continued talking as they went back up to the castle. Since they were going uphill now, it took them longer to get back than it had to get to the village, but they didn't mind so much as they were enjoying each other's company. When they finally made it back to the castle, they walked inside, and removed their jackets and boots at the entrance.

"Do you want me to help carry your bags to your room?" she asked.

"No, Pignite and I can manage." He gestured to Pignite, "You've already helped a lot today."

"Well, if you want help with that wrapping, make sure to come and find me." she reminded him.

"That might be challenging. To be honest, I was surprised we left the castle as easily as we did. I had thought for certain that Kunoichi might try to catch us before we left; you never know when she might be listening in. And if she had coerced Kai into interrogating us with her, then we really would have been in trouble. They're quite a force to be reckoned with. I'd hate to think about what would happen if they were in the same army; no one would ever be able to defeat them." Yukimura shivered at the mental image.

Ryoko chuckled. "What? You're scared of your two best friends?" she asked. He nodded, not even trying to hide it.

"Masamune was foolish enough to insult both of them to their faces once. It's a miracle that he is still able to walk straight and only needs one eye patch."

Ryoko gulped. "Oh my gosh, is _that _why Masamune has an eye patch?!" she gasped in shock.

"No, that was something completely unrelated." Yukimura corrected her, "But he might have gone completely blind if he had been less fortunate."

"Yeesh." she groaned, "Well... I don't think they'd try anything like that on me. We're best friends; they'd trust me."

"Maybe so, but I just... want this to be a surprise." he reminded her.

"Don't worry; if I decide to help out, I promise to be sneaky." she said. "I've got ninja-like reflexes, and the cunning... of an Alakazam!" she declared, striking what she thought to be a ninja pose. A sweat drop formed on Yukimura's head.

"Uh... okay." he decided, "Well, the important thing is to just not say anything until Christmas day."

Ryoko smiled, walking closer to him. "I promise." she said, before leaning up on her tiptoes, and planting a quick kiss on his lips. Yukimura's eyes widened, too shocked to move, and before he was able to think to react, she had broken the kiss.

"Mistletoe." she said, pointing towards the ceiling before walking into the castle without saying anything more. After she had left, his brain finally regained the ability to process thoughts, and looked up to the mistletoe that Ryoko had indicated. He smiled slightly, still feeling the gesture on his lips. It had been quick, but he still enjoyed the gesture for what it was, especially how simple it had been, without needless passion or excessive movement.

_She lied. _He thought to himself as he walked in as well. _I did get an early Christmas present_.

About a half hour later, Ina, Kunoichi and Kai walked in the castle entrance as well, gasping for breath.

"Lord... Mitsuhide... should consider... living... in the... valley." Kai panted.

Kunoichi rolled her eyes. "Quit being such a drama king." she said.

"You mean 'drama queen'." Ina corrected.

Kunoichi smirked, "Nope, I meant what I said." she replied, while Kai glowered up at her.

"Alright," Ina said, placing her hands on her hips, "you both wasted half your day following after Lord Yukimura and Ryoko. Now what do you plan on accomplishing with this nonsense?"

"I'm not talking to Ryoko for the rest of the week!" Kunoichi declared, "She deserves it after going on a date with Yukimura and not telling us. Heck, I think I'll give her the butter bomb!"

Kai rolled her eyes. "Don't be a brat! Ryoko may have gotten a date, but that doesn't mean anything! Now, it's up to _me _to impress Yukimura more than she did, and then he'll go out on a date with me, next time! Then we'll see who gets the last laugh!"

Kunoichi pouted. "Get anywhere near him, and I'll fill up your bedroom with honey!"

Kai huffed. "I can't believe you'd even think about pranking me, especially after I gave you those coals to keep you warm."

Ina looked at Kunoichi. "Coals?" she asked.

Kunoichi sighed. "Oh, she gave me a few of these really warm rocks to keep inside my coat. They're like their own heat source or something." she explained, pulling one out of her jacket and showing it to Ina. Ina examined it closely, before looking back up at Kunoichi.

"Uh, Kunoichi..." she said uneasily, as Kai began to start laughing, "That's Darumaka droppings. As in, poo."

Kunoichi's eyes widened, and she instantly dropped the item in her hand on the floor. "WHAT?!" she screamed, looking down at it with disgust while Kai continued laughing.

"I-I... I was waiting for you to figure it out!" Kai snickered, "It... it's this _old _thing that farmers used to do to keep warm in the winter... stuff Darumaka droppings in their clothes... I... I _can't believe _you actually did it! Haha! That's payback for the butter prank, by the way. Ha ha ha ha!"

Kunoichi shivered, quickly taking off her coat and trying to brush off all of the droppings that were sticking to her clothes. "EEEEEEWEWEEEWEWWEWWEWW!" she shrieked, "IT... IT WAS _**TOUCHING **_MEEE! GUUUH, IT WAS _**ON MY CLOTHES, **_OH..._UGH_!"

Ina looked between the two, Kai, who was still laughing like crazy, and Kunoichi, who looked like she was about to throw up, or have a panic attack. She heaved a long sigh, and after removing her boots, turned and soundlessly walked away from the two, wanting nothing more to do with them and their weirdness for the rest of the day.

* * *

So glad that this is finally done. I was suffering from major roadblocks towards the end, so I apologize if things start to go a bit fast-paced around the end. Anyone ever read some of Darumaka's pokedex entries, where it says that Darumaka droppings used to be put in people's clothes to keep them warm? Well, I decided to implement that somehow, just because it was too weird and too gross of a thought to just leave alone. And with Kai actually having a Darumaka, I knew I could do some damage with it in here, and so I did. I love Kai and Kunoichi's relationship dynamic. They remind me so much of myself and my little sister. And their friendship with Ina is also cute. I've been waiting a long time to write something with those three in it, so I'm glad I could do it in here. I hope you don't mind, Blue Egg. I tried to make this chapter as YukimuraxRyoko friendly as possible, even with them being stalked by Yukimura's fangirls.

Ugh, I don't know what more to say at the moment, so I'll just go right to responding to the latest requests:

**Twilightcrystalflame: **Kanetsugu and Masamune under the mistletoe  
Sidenotes: I suppose that I can thank you for the follow without a doubt, as well as for the review and request. I'll have plenty of fun embarrassing Kanetsugu, just as always. Not to mention torturing Masamune. So thanks for the idea, and please keep reading while I write that scene out.

**Guest 7: **More HanbeixRyoko  
Sidenotes: Glad you enjoyed the last chapter. More HanbeixRyoko is sure to come in the future. After all, I need to give a proper ending to that mistletoe scene. Keep reading until I have a chance to incorporate that in, and thank you for your request.

**Guest 8: **How Kanbei was convinced to wear the elf hat.  
Sidenotes: To be honest, I just wrote that part in for slight humorous effect. But if you would like me to make a story behind it, then make a story I shall! It will be a challenge to myself, and will probably still end up being boring, but hey, I can at least try. Thanks for the request, and please keep reading while I come up with an idea.

One final thing I'd like to say before ending this here: only one more week remains until Christmas Day. If you go back to the very first chapter of this story (or the prologue, if you prefer), you'll see that I set a time limit for requesting chapter ideas. On December 25th, true to what I originally wrote, I will no longer be accepting requests for this story. So if anyone wants to write a request, you have eight more days, including this one, to make a request, before I will no longer be accepting them. For examples of what is an acceptable request, you may refer back to any other chapter in which I stated the rules for requesting, as well as the list of my currently pending requests which I post at the top of every chapter. Please don't wait until Christmas day to request something, however, as that gives me very little time to complete your requests, especially if several people decided to wait until the last second as well. If you have an idea at this very second that you would like to see, than please, give me your idea now. Don't assume that someone else may request the same thing as you, or that your idea is not good enough! **I accept all requests for this story**! So don't be shy, and don't be sloth!

**REVIEW IF YOU WANT NEW CHAPTER! EIGHT DAYS LEFT FOR ACCEPTING** **REQUESTS!**


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